Asset Series 3: SpringHeeled Jack
by shadowglove
Summary: Sequel to See No Evil. Two months have passed and Dean is in Smallville with Chloe taking care of her while secretly investigating Lois' disappearance, disbelieving that she left of her own free will. To make things worse, when the young hunter takes Chloe with him to confront John about Margaret's words concerning his mother's death, John's current case spirals out of control.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

This is a Chloe/Dean friendship!fic.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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"Just how old _is_ this movie?"

"Old enough. I think it was filmed around 1985."

"Jesus fuck! Why are we watching something that old?"

"Because it's _good_."

"It's _old_. How can you like something old?"

"_You're_ old and I still like _you_."

Reaching for the remote, Dean Winchester paused the movie in the middle of the long ass opening credits, turning to look at his companion in mock insult. "Kiddo, I am _not_ old."

"I'm not a 'kiddo'." Chloe shot back, hogging the large container of white cheddar popcorn. "Really Dean, you have to give this a chance. It isn't bad. It's actually funny. And it has really good actors in it!"

"Right." He snorted.

"It does! It has the old guy from the Back to the Future franchise! And Tim Curry!" She grinned brightly. "And if it has Tim Curry in it then it has to be great!"

Dean just stared at her, wondering what exactly she was talking about. He really hadn't had the whole movie experience as a kid growing up, and he supposed he must have probably maybe seen Back to the Future since it sounded somehow familiar, but he had no idea who'd acted in it. He especially had no idea who this Tim Curry was.

Chloe must have read that on his face because she made up hers, thinking for a moment, before her eyes flashed. "Remember those episodes of Criminal Minds we saw the other night? The ones you said "kinda rocked"?"

That easily brought the episodes to mind. "Yeah."

"Tim Curry was the bad guy." She grinned, obviously quite proud of herself and her accomplishments.

"Oh." Dean leaned harder against the sofa, stealing some of the popcorn she guarded so vigorously, plopping them into his mouth. "I liked him."

"_See_?" Chloe stole the remote and pressed play. "Now watch and stop doubting my ability to pick good movies."

It wasn't that he doubted her ability, and it wasn't that he didn't like old stuff, but Dean really didn't know if he considered himself a TV type of guy. He'd rarely had any time to sleep much less do anything else while growing up, but ever since he'd started his apparently indefinite stay at the Sullivan Residence two months ago he'd found his nights filled with DVDs and television shows and TV movies. He'd probably been bombarded with more actors and actresses and bad story plots than his mind could reconcile.

And then there were the horror movies.

Dear god, the horror movies!

Half of the people, if not all, deserved to die!

They made stupid mistakes and were just asking to be axed!

"See? Slutty maid with big boobs and ridiculously short skirt." Chloe nudged him in the shoulder with hers, motioning to the screen, where a younger Tim Curry was talking to a _very_ slutty looking maid. "I've got your back."

"What is it with you and boobs?" Although, if Dean was to be honest, he was quite enjoying this part of the movie.

"What? Are you more of a butt guy?" Chloe asked in that ever blunt way of hers.

"Jesus kiddo." He grumbled, shaking his head, stealing more popcorn as his gaze went to the television screen once more. "What sort of name is Colonel Mustard?"

"It's an alias. If you were _paying attention_ you would have picked up on that." She rolled her eyes, getting more comfortable.

"_Tell_ me "Wadsworth" is an alias."

"I don't remember." She made a face. "It could be real though. He _is_ British."

Dean snorted in amusement as he got comfortable as well, feet up on the coffee table as he watched the players in this movie get to the castle. They were some seriously strange people with interesting aliases, and everyone seemed connected somehow…and fascinated with the maid's big, propped up boobs. Not that he blamed them. They were some seriously impressive boobs. "Wait, how short is that maid uniform?"

"Short enough and yet not enough."

He sent her a look.

"Just saying what you were thinking." Her lips twitched in amusement as she continued to watch the screen.

Rolling his eyes, still not sure what to think of this girl, Dean's gaze went to the screen once more as he watched in silence, annoyed to admit that she was right. Mr. Body (that didn't sound ominous did it?) was freaking out about being locked up in the manor. Dean could kinda get that, all things considering. But Mr. Body didn't have a raving lunatic taking out eyes to make him go frantic. Just the thought that he was locked inside had set him off.

Dean immersed himself in the movie, smirking at the twists, raising an eyebrow at the gifts, and generally trying to figure out what the frig was going on.

"Three…two…one…lights out." Chloe whispered before the lights were turned off and there were a series of sounds and grunts and screams and even a gunshot.

"The hell?" Dean blinked as the lights came back on to reveal the surprise(?) death.

Another scream.

From the maid.

"She's obviously just in this for her boobs. Her accent's horrible." Chloe muttered to herself, chewing.

Dean snickered as he watched the rest of the movie, snickering at parts, rolling his eyes at others, and deciding he actually might kinda not hate it. He wasn't going to admit it to Chloe though, the kid wouldn't let him live it down.

Shaking his head, hazel eyes slid sideways towards the girl and he wondered if this was how she and Lois used to spend their saturday mornings. He was still unable to believe that the brunette had left her cousin the way she had, a part of him just told him that that couldn't be real. He knew Lois enough to know that the brunette loved the blonde as much as he loved Sammy, and he'd never be able to leave Sammy behind, no matter _what_ shit was going on. But there was nothing to indicate that things hadn't gone down the way they seemed to have…except for the feeling in his gut.

Chloe seemed to have accepted it, and while she pretended that she wasn't bothered Dean would catch her gazing at pictures of Lois with deep sadness.

When the end credits rolled, Dean shook his head. "That was insane."

"I know." Chloe smiled, finally letting go of the now empty container, putting it on the sofa between them as she stood and stretched. "I could eat some burgers, how about you?"

A part of him wanted to say _no_, that he would prefer to laze around, but then another part of him registered "burgers" and if there was one thing Smallville did right, it was hamburgers. "Burgers?"

She grinned, nodding. "We can get some _pie_ too while we're at it."

Goddamn it. It seemed as if this girl had discovered his every weakness by the end of the second week of his stay.

This was bad.

The phone rang, and Chloe stood quickly, going to answer it. "Hello?" There was expectancy in her voice, in her eyes, and she cleared her throat when she heard whoever was on the other line. "Yes you have to do this." Pause. "Because he deserves to know, that's why!" She narrowed her eyes. "If you don't tell him I will!" She raised an eyebrow before handing the phone over to Dean. "I'm going to get the food…and the only thing I'm going to say is that he made me promise, that's the only reason I haven't told you. I swear."

Dean watched her grab her keys and wallet in confusion, holding the phone in his hands warily as he watched her leave the house, before finally bringing the phone to his ear. "Who the hell is this?"

There was silence, and then someone cleared his throat. "Uhm, hi, Dean."

Dean was floored. Had he been standing up he'd have fallen onto the couch. "_Sammy_?"

"Yeah." Sammy sighed, sounding like he was in the process of sitting down as well. "How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?" Dean shook his head, unable to believe that he was talking to his brother after all these months incommunicado. "What the hell are you doing calling here? How did you get this number? How do you know Chloe?"

There was another sighed. "Uh, she said she told you she'd visited California, right?"

A sinking sensation made itself at home in his gut. "She went to _Stanford_?"

"Well, she knows my friend Brady, that's how I met her." Sam sounded like he was trying to get comfortable. "She stayed over at our dorm house and things went to shit when some stupid idiots decided to conjure up a ghost. They didn't know at the time that the ghost belonged to a pedophile who had a thing for young girls, virgins in particular."

A sick feeling made his mouth taste terrible.

"In the end she, Brady, Jess, her friend Wade and I were the only ones who made it out." Sam revealed. "When she heard my last name she immediately asked me if I was related to you, and when she found out she was psyched. Said something about Winchesters being her lucky charms so she knew she'd get out of the situation fine. She, uh, told me all about Hope."

"I can't believe she wouldn't tell me this." And he felt deceived, dammit!

"I asked her not to tell you. Begged her to, actually, and even though she really wanted to tell you she agreed to silence." Sam revealed. "She told me you'd actually returned and I was floored. I couldn't understand why you'd go search up civilians after the hunt was finished, you know? But I asked her not to tell you, made her promise."

"Why?" Dean ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well…" Sam sounded ashamed. "I was worried that if you or dad found out that I'd done something hunt-related that you'd think I wanted back into the family business and would come here for me to try and convince me to leave."

Dean sat there in silence, trying to digest the summarized version of what had happened. He couldn't believe that Chloe knew his brother-because just how much of a coincidence _was_ that?

"Dean?" Sam cleared his throat. "You still there?"

"Who's Jess?" Dean found himself ask, unwilling to touch the other subject for right now.

"Oh." Sammy was smiling, that was obvious in his voice. "My girlfriend."

The pipsqueak had a _girlfriend_.

"Is she hot?"

Sam squeaked. "Really? Dean? I tell you all of this and all you have to ask about is the sexiness level of my girlfriend?"

"_SHE'S HOT!"_ A female voice yelled in the background.

"_Jess_." Sam sounded embarrassed.

"_She is_." Jess, the aforementioned girlfriend, declared.

"Dean?" Sammy finally spoke to him again.

Dean palmed his face, chuckling in disbelief at how weird this day had gone. "It's a lot to digest, Sammy. I think I'm still in the shocked stage of this."

"I get that." He mumbled. "Is Chloe around?"

"No, she skipped out of the house the second she gave me the phone." His accusing glance went towards the door. "She and I are going to have a serious conversation when she gets back though."

"Don't take this out on her Dean." Sam was suddenly protective. "She was just respecting my wishes. She's a kid, okay? She's not-."

"Dude. Chill. You sound as if you think I'm going to go all Kardashian on her ass." And he resented that deeply because _who_ was the one here taking care of her ass in the first place? Him or Sammy?

There was a pause. "You know who the Kardashians are?"

"Screw you Sammy."

Sam had the audacity to snort. "What exactly is she making you _watch_?"

"E!News." He grumbled, resentful. "It's the only reason I know what a Kardashian is."

"_Riiiiiiiiiiiiight_."

"Don't make me go to Cali to kick your ass in front of your girlfriend dude!"

"I bet you watch Dr. Sexy M.D. too."

Dean opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times, sputtering in his denial.

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She chewed on her thumbnail in nerves as she drove down the road.

To be honest the blonde really wasn't thinking about the road, there wasn't anyone else driving anyway. Her thoughts were on Dean and Sam and the conversation she knew they must be having right now. It'd always left her uneasy to not tell Dean the fact that she knew Sam, especially considering everything else she kept from him, and the fact that he was sticking around until her father decided he cared enough to show his face in Smallville…well…Chloe had needed to come clean in at least _this_. Dean might hate her for this. He might have left by the time she got back home. But she needed to do it, had called Sam and told him to talk to his brother or she would. She…she…

Taking in a deep breath, Chloe ran her hand through her hair as she tried to calm herself down. The last thing she needed was to go into a panic attack while driving.

Speaking about her father, other than that one voicemail message she hadn't heard a peep from him in the last two months. He was busy with his "important" meetings. She was used to him not being around anymore but this time he was staying away longer than usual. It made her wonder if he was worried about being in the house without Lois as a buffer. Was he wondering if he could deal with his crazy daughter? Was that why he was staying as far away from here as possible and not even trying to get into contact with her to see how she was doing? He didn't know Dean was staying with her. For all he knew she'd been by herself this whole time.

Gulping back hurt, Chloe pressed down on the accelerator as she neared Loeb Bridge.

How exactly was her father supposed to manage the Luthorcorp plant in Smallville if he was never actually _in_ _Smallville_?

How did that make any sense?

She'd wondered it a couple of times, but never really vocalized the question.

Turning the volume on the radio up, Chloe registered movement and gazed up right before a silvery blue Porsche 911 slammed into her. The impact sent her car tumbling into the guardrail-through it-and then the scream in her throat was cut short during the freefall as her head hit the steering wheel. She must have blacked out. It was the only explanation she could come up with for one minute hitting water, and the next waking up to find herself fully submerged underwater, water filling the car slowly yet surely, reaching her to her chin.

Close by she could see the same Porsche also resting on the bottom of Elbow River as well. There was someone inside it, a male, and he seemed unconscious.

Great.

Just great.

She looked outside, up above, at how much higher the surface was. If she made the swim up she didn't think she'd have enough lung-power to make it back down. But could she get to the guy and get him up as well without drowning herself?

And who the hell was he?

No one in Smallville had a _Porsche_.

Unhooking her seatbelt, Chloe tried her door, and on the third attempt got it open, taking in her last breath as water flooded inside. The blonde pushed the seat to push herself off of, swimming towards the Porsche, making it quick than she'd expected and yet her lungs were still burning her from lack of oxygen. Luckily for her, but not for the stranger, he'd had his window rolled down so it was easy for her to reach in at him. He had a wound on his head, like the one she probably had, but considering his window was rolled all the way down he was half drowned if not completely dead by now.

His eyes fluttered open for a second, staring at her before shutting.

Swimming inside, pulling herself in by his steering wheel, Chloe fought with his seatbelt before finally it was free. She pushed herself out and fought with his body, a couple of bubbles escaping her lips as she yanked him out through the window. Her head was getting dizzy, but the blonde fought to keep awake as she swam desperately to the surface-which seemed so impossibly far away. The teenager felt herself slipping once or twice, but she pushed on, egged by the burning in her chest, until finally she surfaced, breathing in desperate gulps of air as she did so. She shifted onto her back, keeping the stranger's head above water, as she slowly back-paddled towards the shore.

It seemed like an eternity before finally the water was shallow enough for her to find footing, but Chloe was so tired she couldn't even think to do anything but drag the still man to the bank. Her legs were wobbly and her mind screamed for her to lay down next to the man and rest, but Chloe fought that as she searched for a pulse, not finding any.

"Dammit!" Pulling herself up to her knees, Chloe brought her lips to his, pinching his nose as she breathed in, before beginning CPR.

Above she could hear a car screeching to a stop and someone yelling down below if they were okay, but she ignored the voice, continuing to breathe into the man's mouth and pump his chest.

"Come on, come on!"

Suddenly he jerked, spewing out water.

"That's it!" She encouraged, helping him roll to his side so as to purge easier.

His eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared at her in confusion, bringing a hand to his head. "What happened?"

"You ran into me." She made a face, finally allowing herself to collapse next to him on the pebbled shore. "Then we went swimming."

He was still before shooting up into a sitting position, staring at the deceptively still waters of Elbow River. "You…you pulled me out of my car."

She refused to answer because it was obvious, and she was tired.

"_Why_?"

The question caught her off-guard, and she turned on her side to stare at him in confusion. "Why not?"

He frowned at her in utter confusion, as if he couldn't get why someone would help him like that.

Turning to lay on her back once more, Chloe brought her arm to rest over her eyes to shield them from the glare, in deep mourning. "I didn't get the pie."

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He was gonna kill her.

Closing 'Pala's door behind him, Dean barely even gave the deputies cordoning off the area a second glance as he hurried down the path on the side of Loeb Bridge. When he'd finished talking to Sammy he'd been a little concerned to realize the time and the fact that Chloe had yet to return, but he'd brushed it off as her doing her best to avoid the conversation she knew she was in for when she got back. And then Sheriff Miller had called and told him about the accident and Dean had barely gotten the directions from the man before he'd hung up and was on his way, cursing the girl's inability to keep out of mortal danger.

He was beginning to understand Lois' plight a bit more during these last two months of almost every night waking up to Chloe's screams and nightmares. He'd never been much of a sleeper himself, but it'd gotten worse as he found himself subconsciously half asleep waiting for the sound of the screaming to begin. He'd then make the now familiar trip towards her bedroom to shake the girl up and end whatever horror was besieging her. They'd both need the alcohol by then, neither wanting to talk about it, instead just sharing a bottle and sitting on the edge of her bed in the darkness until the tipsiness finally took over and she conked out again.

And that was only during the night.

The girl had panic attacks that rendered her useless. She'd start trembling like a kitten in a downpour, and many times wasn't able to hold her food down. And then there were the ghost pains that most of the times ended with her crying on the floor.

He'd met her Quack Doc, some blonde woman with a pixie-cut and a smirk. According to Doc Masters this was all inflicted on Chloe by her own subconscious, and the hunter couldn't help but think that was the biggest pile of shit that he'd ever heard. There was no way that that kid hated herself so much as to subconsciously be doing this to herself.

"How many times do I have to say that I'm _fine_?" Chloe's annoyed voice wanted to know as the blonde slapped away the hands of a paramedic.

Oh yeah.

There was the fact that she seemed to have some sort of aversion to being touched.

Of course there were exceptions, such as Clark, Pete and himself, but otherwise Chloe got bitchy if people came too close to her.

She must have caught his movement out of the corner of her eye, because she looked up at him and her eyes widened like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. She stood and threw off the blanket, revealing her soaking wet clothes as she took a couple of wobbly steps towards him. "It wasn't my fault."

Taking in a deep breath, realizing that if she was trying to pass on the blame she was fine, Dean shook his head as he went towards her. "This was your attempt to get out of our talk once you got home, wasn't it?"

For a second she seemed confused, and then she smiled. "You got me. I'm transparent."

Dean smirked, shaking his head as he came to stand in front of her, gaze taking her in and categorizing each bruise and cut.

Considering the fall she was relatively unharmed.

"You okay?"

She smiled brighter and nodded.

"It was my fault." Another voice announced, drawing Dean's attention towards a male around his age with a bald head and a blanket wrapped around him as well. "I wasn't paying attention and I ran into her. She-she saved my life."

Who exactly was this?

Dean hadn't seen him before in town.

"I'm Lex, Lex Luthor." He held out his hand. "You must be Chloe's brother."

Chloe's mouth fell open comically.

Dean made a face, somewhat unnerved by the assumption. "Not her brother." He shook the hand nonetheless, putting enough force behind it to let the other guy know he wasn't happy with him in the least bit for his careless actions. "Come on Chloe, we're going home."

"Did you say Lex Luthor?" Chloe squeaked.

"_Chloe_." Dean motioned with his head towards the trail.

"Coming!" She nodded, finally tearing her wide-eyed gaze from Luthor before hurrying after Dean, catching up with him easily given the fact that he'd slowed his pace for her. "That was _rude_."

"He's a _Luthor_. I want nothing to do with anything related to that damn house." Dean grumbled.

"None of that was his fault you know." She pointed out all sensibly.

"You've nearly died _twice_ in incidents that had to do with Luthors." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't forget that."

She hugged herself, shivering slightly.

He sighed, pulling off his windbeater and passing it to her. "Won't do to have you freeze to death before we have our little chat about you keeping your knowing Sammy a secret from me all this time."

The blonde flinched as she pulled it on. "It wasn't my fault?"

Shaking his head, Dean flung an arm around her shoulders, feeling how cold she was through the material.

He could feel Luthor's gaze on their backs.

The hunter tightened his grip on the blonde's shoulders, fighting the feeling of unease steadily growing in the pit of his stomach.

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**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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"I swear I'm fine." Chloe complained as she sat in her change of clothes, which consisted of shorts and an overly large shirt she'd stolen from his dufflebag when he wasn't looking. Said shirt proudly proclaimed her a **F**ederal **B**ikini** I**nspector. It was a disconcerting mental image to say the least.

A part of Dean wanted to point out that that was his shirt and to take it off, but it was an old shirt that he usually only wore to bother Sammy, and anyway he'd noticed the sly introduction of new shirts and pants and such to his drawers. They obviously weren't Gabe's clothes (which had all been packed away by the blonde the night after Dean had arrived, and thrown into the attic) and they were most definitely his style.

He'd noticed the way she's striped Gabe's room of everything that made it his. The sandy-haired male hadn't offered to help, instead merely gave the girl her space, recognizing the actions for what they were. He'd heard the phone message left the night he'd come back, how her father knew what she'd just been through, that she'd been injured and nearly killed again before being abandoned by Lois (something he still didn't believe) and yet Gabriel Sullivan had said that what he was doing was too important to leave. That he'd get into contact with her when he could. Chloe's striping the room clean of his things was obviously therapy of some sort for the girl who scrubbed the bathtub as if it had years of grime on it and wasn't sparkly clean already.

Anger had raised in Dean's throat as he watched her put all her sadness and frustration into the cleaning, into moving him in. He'd told her that he'd stay until either Lois or Gabe returned, but as the days began to turn into weeks and then months he couldn't help but wonder if he'd trust either once they eventually returned. And it annoyed him because he shouldn't have allowed this kid to get so under his skin and yet she had. She reminded him too much of Sammy when he'd been a little boy, except she was fragile in a way Sammy never had been.

Sighing, Dean kept his gaze on her wounds. They were honestly not very deep or life-threatening in the least bit, but they bothered him like hell because she'd gotten hurt under his watch.

He knew he should be more pissed off with this kid for keeping the fact that she knew his baby brother a secret from him, but at the moment Dean couldn't find it in him to be more than a little annoyed. It wasn't just the fact that Sam had made it clear without exactly coming out and saying it that if Dean got on Chloe's case about it that Sam would get on the first bus to Smallville and "kick your ass" (which was hysterical because no way could Sammy take him on)…and it wasn't even because Dean didn't know if Chloe's psyche could actually handle him being pissed off at her. There really wasn't a reason for why he felt this way, he just _did_.

It was intriguing for Dean to realize that he _was_ more worried about her than he was pissed off at her…but then again that's how it was with family.

And that thought shocked the hunter to the core.

Jesus!

Just how close had he let this kid get?

"Yeah, we'll see how fine you are when these all get infected." He grumbled, sitting on the ottoman while she sat a little higher up on the arm of the sofa, the hunter dabbing his father's homemade disinfectant on the cuts and scrapes she sported. He'd already dabbed a more than generous amount on the wound in her forehead which he felt needed stitches, no matter _what_ the paramedics had thought about it, and was working on her arms. There really wasn't anything but minor scrapes and cuts, but there were light scars from where she'd cut up her arms on the barbed wire in the cage in Goodnight's little torture room.

Dean's eyes narrowed on the marks, wondering if they would fade away or if she'd always have physical reminders of what she'd gone through. Like the scars permanently over her heart.

"What's in this stuff anyway?" Chloe whined, wiping at the excess liquid from her head wound which was sliding down the side of her face. "It stings like a mother-."

"Secret family recipe." He shrugged, not really knowing himself but refusing to let her know that. He'd never questioned John about his concoction, and it was the first time that he was beginning to wonder if he'd been too compliant. "You have to be a Winchester to get access to that information."

Her eyebrow raised as she snorted. "I know my curiosity is legendary, but I don't know if it's worth marrying you."

"Someone thinks a lot about herself." He snorted in dark amusement as he shook his head. "And for the record, I'm not into kids. I like _women_."

"Good. I'm not into senior citizens either." She shot back. "Especially not crotchety ones."

"_Crotchety_?" Chuckling despite himself, Dean finished dabbing the last bit of the antiseptic, closing the bottle and throwing the cotton ball into the garbage can. Slam dunk! "Kiddo, using words like that one makes _you_ the senior citizen."

She pursed her lips at him, on the edge of a tantrum.

He smirked brighter, thinking about how much she reminded him of a spoilt version of Sammy…if Sammy had been a girl…and hell on wheels.

"You're thinking something that I'd punch you for, aren't you?" Her eyes were narrowed suspiciously at him.

Dean awarded her with his best innocent expression.

Her eyes narrowed further, suspicion mounting seven-fold.

A knock at the door was his salvation, and Dean sat up with a chuckle as he made his way towards the front door, opening it. Immediately though his smile turned into a scowl and he folded his arms over his chest as he saw who was there. "What do you want?"

Lex Luthor stood in the doorway, wearing something that probably cost more money than Dean would ever see in his life. "I was wondering if I could have a word."

Dean opened his mouth to tell the dude that they wanted nothing to do with Luthors.

"Dean? Dean! This thing is dripping!" Chloe arrived in the hallway, shirt pulled up to reveal the tight camisole underneath, covering her view. "It's gonna get your shirt stained!" She eased the shirt off of her head, avoiding the wound, before shaking her head and turning towards him, finally freezing when she realized he was not alone. "Oh." Bringing the shirt to her chest immediately, a red blush began making its way up her neck. "Mr. Luthor."

"Please, call me Lex." Luthor announced with a smile Dean just couldn't trust. "Mr. Luthor is my father."

"Mr…uh…Lex." Chloe's voice squeaked before she cleared it and forced a smile. "Please! Come in! I'm going to change into something else then I'll be right down." The look she shot Dean was obviously one for him to not be rude, and then she was racing up the stairs as fast as her feet would take her.

Not waiting for another invitation, Luthor strode inside passed Dean, his hands in his pockets.

Narrowing his eyes on that straight back, not trusting anyone who had anything to do with Luthor Castle, Dean reluctantly shut the door. "We have beer."

"No thank you." Luthor's gaze was on the pictures hanging on the wall, his hands in his pockets. "Do you lean towards amateur photography?"

"Huh?" Dean leaned against the door, folding his arms over his chest.

"I was wondering if you weren't in these pictures because you'd taken them." Luthor replied, finally turning towards him.

Dean shifted his weight on his feet. "Dude, the pictures I take never end up on walls."

The only time he'd take pictures was when scoping out a place or a person while on hunts. And those kinds of pictures were burnt immediately after to avoid detection and suspicion from anyone who might find them.

Luthor opened his mouth but footsteps hurrying down the stairs caused him to close it and turn around to look up.

Dean followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow. "You did _not_ just wipe off all the disinfectant I put on your wounds."

"I looked ridiculous. And it was _dripping_." Chloe rolled her eyes as him, dressed in one of her cuter shirts as she stopped mid-staircase, turning to Luthor. "Would you like something to drink? We have beer, water, soda…"

"No thank you, I think we've both had enough water today." He chuckled.

Dean narrowed his eyes, reminded of the fact that Chloe had nearly drowned hours earlier. That joke wasn't funny at all.

Chloe grinned, chuckling softly. "I agree." She hurried down the rest of the stairs and sent Dean a quick look before stopping next to Luthor. "Please, come sit down. We, uh, weren't expecting company so please excuse the mess."

Dean raised an eyebrow.

What mess?

"It's fine, I'm sorry for intruding." Luthor followed her into the living room, sitting down besides her on the sofa. "To be honest, when we had the accident I was heading towards your house."

Leaning in the living room's entryway, Dean folded his arm over his chest. "Is that so?"

"Yes." Luthor's blue gaze went to him, raising an eyebrow. "You know, I pride myself in knowing the lives of key employees, but I didn't realize that Gabriel's _nephew_ was taking care of his daughter, I thought it was a _niece_."

Dean just didn't like the subtle enquiries as to who he was and what the hell he was doing here. First there'd been the question about him being her brother and now cousin.

"Dean's my protector." Chloe replied, causing both males to turn towards her in surprise. "He, uh, takes care of me."

"Ah." Luthor nodded. "He's your guardian."

Chloe paused over that word, then gazed up passed him at Dean and smiled brightly before turning her attention back to the bald man. "Yes. He's my guardian."

Dean suddenly found it hard to swallow.

"I see." Luthor cleared his throat. "The killings at the manor-."

Dean tensed up immediately.

"We were going to act sooner but due to…personal issues…we've only just now been able to reach out to the survivors and the families of the victims." Luthor declared, very severe. "We're starting a foundation to help those affected by Jacob Goodnight's rampage, especially those who lost loved ones. A trust will be set up in everyone's names-."

"Money won't help them get their dead loved ones back." Dean didn't care how hostile he might seem right now, it was just that everything this guy said and did seemed to annoy him even further.

"We know that." Luthor replied quite coolly. "But it will help with any financial issues their passing might have caused. We know that money cannot bring any peace to their broken families, but we hope that with this they won't have to worry about anything financial."

"That's good of your family." Chloe was being frustratingly nice about this whole situation.

"Good of them?" Dean sneered. "It's _their fault_ this happened."

"_Dean_!" Chloe snapped at him.

"They had a goddamn _serial killer_ hiding in their house!" He snapped right back at her. "They should have made sure that before they brought innocent civilians and took away their phones so they couldn't even call for help-!"

"Dean _please_." Chloe stood, horrified.

He felt like a villain right then, and cursed under his breath as he left the room, storming out.

The home phone rang and he tore into the kitchen, yanking the phone from the handle. "**_What_**?"

"Boy, this is _not_ your cellular." Bobby's voice was condemning in his ear. "You answer this number with manners, you hear?"

Sighing, Dean closed the kitchen door and sat down. "What is it Bobby?"

"Well, don't shower me with so much love." Bobby grumbled. "It ain't like I ain't doing you a favor or nothing."

Dean ran his hand over his face. "Sorry. I-I'm just not in the best of moods."

"Idgit." Bobby mumbled before clearing his throat. "Everything okay with the girl?"

Bobby had yet to meet Chloe but Dean had had enough conversations with him about her considering he couldn't talk to his father for advice. Not only was John Winchester not the type of person to sit down and counsel others, but he'd also stopped talking to Dean since he'd stood him up and sent Bobby to the case. His father had called only once to scream at him, saying that he was shaming his mother by settling down and "babysitting" while her murderer was still out there. Dean had just barely kept from snapping at his father for the first time in his life.

"You know the family that owned the castle with Goodnight in it?" Dean leaned back on the chair.

"The Luthors?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah." Just the name made Dean frown. "Apparently the heir or something is in the living room right now. And get this, he ran into Chloe earlier today, like, his car into hers. Both of them toppled into the river and the idiot nearly drowned herself pulling him from his car." He didn't let Bobby react to that, just rolling on. "And now he's here, obviously challenging what the hell I'm doing here since I'm no one, and he has the nerve to want to give the people from the Luthor Castle Cleanup Disaster _money_. Probably just to shut them up. But Chloe's just eating it all up, thinking they're doing such a grand and noble gesture, and unable to see that they're just buying their silence! It fucking annoys me!"

"So I take it you're fixing for some good news."

Dean sat up straighter. "You have some for me?"

"Not really." The old bastard snorted. "But I _do_ have some information from my friend Frank. Though, 'friend' is stretching it a bit. He's a jackass and a lunatic but he's also a surveillance expert and that's what I'd need for what you asked me. Don't get around computers too much myself."

Dean waited for Bobby to get to his point.

"My point is that I gave him the two names you passed me, Lois Lane and Adam Knight? He's run them through the databases and hasn't come up with anything. There's nothing on them."

Dean sighed. "So they must be using cash or-."

"You don't get it boy. There's nothing on them. At all." Bobby replied in his harsh tone. "No birth certificates, _nothing_. It's as if they never existed."

Dean shot up to his feet. "What? But that's impossible."

"Frank checked this General Sam Lane you say's her father, but he's listed as only having one daughter, who's off to school somewhere in Europe."

"The hell?" Dean whispered, running his fingers through his hair. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know." Bobby was frowning, it was obvious in his voice. "Either this girl never really existed…or someone's gone to a very great length to make sure it looks that way."

"There are pictures of her Bobby. I knew her. There's evidence of her all over this house. She existed." Dean insisted, her face bombarding him at this news. "Something's got to be wrong. She existed. She _exists_."

"Look, send me a picture of them both if you can get your hands on it. I'll get it to Frank and see if he can use the pictures somehow." Bobby grunted.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Dean began to pace the floor. "Something's not right, Bobby. I knew it the second I came back and Lois had gone. She would _not_ leave this kid like that."

"If someone else _is_ behind this, you've got to ask yourself a couple of questions Dean." Bobby was, as always, going straight to the bone. "Whoever it is has to be able to pull some strings to pull this off, means there's connections, and why would someone that powerful use his or her abilities to make this girl disappear? What could this person gain from this girl's vanishing?"

"I don't know." Dean hated admitting it. "But something's going on here and I'm not going to rest until I find out what."

"Calm down and don't get your panties in a bunch." Bobby declared. "Just send me those pictures, okay?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded. "Thanks Bobby."

"Sure."

The kitchen door swung open and Chloe's footsteps drew closer before suddenly her arms were around Dean's waist, her forehead pressed into his back.

"Kiddo?" Dean gave a little jerk, but she tightened her hold on him. "I'm gonna have to call you back Bobby."

"Talk to you later." Bobby grumbled gruffly before hanging up.

Dean tried to pull free and turn to face the girl, but the skinny kid was holding on tightly. He frowned, awkwardly patting the hands clasped around his stomach tightly. "What's up shortstop?"

"He transferred." She whispered into his back, the sound muffled yet still audible enough to make out.

"What?" Dean tilted his head as far back as he could. "What'ya talking about?"

"Dad." Chloe's voice was choked. "He was transferred to Gotham. Four months ago. That's why he was hardly ever here…he came to _visit_." She held on tighter, her arms trembling as she hid her face harder in Dean's back.

Dean stared ahead of him, the hand holding the phone clenching tightly as the hand that'd been patting hers remained there.

"Lex was on his way here because this house belongs to Luthorcorp, the managers of the Smallville plant are supposed to live here and the only reason why there hadn't been an issue till now was because they hadn't found someone to replace dad. But they have." She was crying. "Lex was here to give me the polite version of an eviction notice."

"That fucking-!" Dean tried to turn once more but she held on tighter, pressing her forehead in harder, and he realized she didn't want him to see her crying so he stopped.

"He asked me if I wanted to stay here-that as a favor since I'd saved his life-but no, I couldn't-not with everything." She held on even tighter, hurting him a little, but he didn't complain. "He says that he'll arrange for a different place for me, but I need to be out of here in a week."

Dean closed his eyes, biting back the desire to go berserk.

"Apparently he just bought the old Talon building from Nell Potter-Lana's aunt-and he's going to convert it into apartments. Said that he'll give me the top floor for myself as a thank you for saving him. It'll take a month or two for it to be ready to move in and he'll pay for me to stay somewhere else till then." She took in a deep breath, trying to get a hold of herself. "It'll be mine, not dad's." She hiccupped. "He said that since I'm a minor I'd need someone to be the trustee until I become of age…for legal purposes...and I asked him to name you on the documents."

Dean went still.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know who else…I don't expect you to stay forever or anything…I just need…" She was trembling again. "Since we're survivors we're already getting a little trust in our names from the Luthors, the apartment is added in mine, so it'd be easy for you to be named as my trustee since you're already going to get a trust and…"

"I don't want that asshole's money." And yet he kept his hand on hers.

"You could buy more weapons with that money, to replace the ones you lost." She whispered. "And you don't have to stay, but you could always know you'd have a place to hang out between hunts or when you were hurt or just lonely." Her voice broke. "Everyone gets lonely."

Dean just closed his eyes again, tightening his hold on her hands.

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**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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News travelled quickly around Smallville, especially when it had to do with a near death.

Dean sat on the couch, drinking a beer and pretending to watch a wrestling match, but to be honest his attention was constantly straying to where Chloe smiled brightly and bravely to Clark and Pete, her best friends. The young hunter didn't know Clark as much as he did Pete, but he thought the kid was okay, if not somewhat strange. All Dean really knew was that they were the only other people in town Chloe allowed close enough to touch her, and in some sense that was enough for him.

He had great respect for Pete, the kid had shown cojones and loyalty in the Luthor place, and those things meant a lot to Dean. He encouraged the African American boy to come over as much as he wanted, and while he really didn't mess with other people's business he had to admit he hoped that the trouble the boy's parents were going through would end because there was talk of Pete moving away with his mother. Clark was a nice guy, but Dean didn't know if he could be counted on when the going got tough, which was exactly what Chloe needed around her.

Dean clenched his fist tightly against his can of beer as he saw Chloe laugh at something Clark said.

Most of the time Dean compared her to Sammy, but he was beginning to see bits and pieces of himself instead. She was being brave, putting on a good face, acting like everything was alright. She was lying to everyone, including herself, very convincingly.

Hearing the phone ring he hit the mute bottom and reached for the side table, bringing the cordless to his ear. "Sullivan Residence."

"You think this is a game or something boy?" John Winchester's voice was harsh and judgmental. "While you're playing around people are dying."

Dean sat up immediately, trained to be at attention whenever his father was near. "No one is playing, sir."

John scoffed loudly. "Your mother's murderer is living the life, ruining other families, while you and your brother have disgraced her memory by running away from the fight like _dogs_ with your tails between your legs!"

Dean closed his eyes against the onslaught of words. "I haven't stopped hunting, dad. I'm doing what you taught me to do. I'm taking care of a civilian who needs me right now."

"You're using that kid as an excuse." John snapped. "I need your ass back on the front lines. This is a _war_ we're fighting and every day the enemy gets stronger. I need my finest soldier to be fighting the fight as he's _supposed_ to be doing, and not playing _house_."

The old Dean would have already been out the door and about to open the Impala's door.

The sliding door to the porch opened and Chloe stuck her head in. "Clark and Pete are going for the burgers and pie I couldn't get earlier. Do you want anything else?"

He shook his head.

She eyed him curiously before turning to Pete and Clark. "That's it. Thanks guys!"

"I'll speak to you later, sir." And with that Dean hung up, giving Chloe a forced smile. "I'm going to get another beer." Putting down the cordless he went into the kitchen and threw away the crushed can, taking in a deep breath as he opened the fridge door and stared inside unseeingly. His stomach was queasy as it always was when his father was displeased with him, and for the first time ever Dean was somewhat annoyed with himself for it. He'd always been a hundred per cent obedient, the perfect soldier, the loyal son with unflinching loyalty. If his father said jump Dean wouldn't even ask how high, he'd just jump with all his might. And yet now, _now_, he was beginning to grow annoyed, frustrated, _resentful_.

He wondered fleetingly if this was what Sammy had felt all these years.

If this was why he'd run away.

The phone rang once then there was no other sound.

Dean growled, hating the way his stomach had jumped with nerves at the sound of the ring. Was he some sort of kid? Why the hell should this bother him so much?

Grabbing the beer, Dean slammed the fridge closed and opened the can, taking a long sip.

Chloe laughed in the living room, proving she'd picked up the phone earlier and was probably talking to Clark or Pete.

Going towards the back window, Dean gazed down at the large tree in the yard, tapping his fingers against the window frame as his father's words burned themselves into his mind. John Winchester hadn't said he missed him or worried about him, all he'd done was reprimand him for being anything other than a soldier and fighting his war.

That kinda hurt.

Shaking his head, not the type to mull over _feelings_, Dean cursed and went back towards the living room, finding Chloe straddling the sofa's unrest, smiling at him as she listened to whoever was on the phone.

He managed a more genuine smile for her this time as he collapsed next to her on the sofa and took off the mute on the television, returning to pretending to watch it. The young hunter didn't understand it, but the anger and frustration and hurt that'd annoyed him in the kitchen seemed to slowly start to fade as he sat next to her, the girl reaching out to brush away a lock of hair from his face which he'd been too annoyed to even realize was in his eyes.

"Please, it would be no problem whatsoever." She assured whoever she was talking to. "Don't be stupid. You're welcome to stop by any time. I'll be insulted if you don't."

A bit of annoyance returned to the hunter.

He hoped that wasn't Luthor!

Dean sent her a narrowed gaze.

"I can understand that it puts you out somewhat but you can't even begin to understand how much this has meant to me. You've been so incredibly understanding and…please…I'm not flattering you, learn to take a compliment." She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You're forgiven."

This _really_ better not be Luthor, because Dean was pretty sure there was a hint of flirtation in the kid's voice.

"Make it habit to call more often." She declared rather bossily before chuckling, curling a blonde lock around her finger. "Thank you, that means a lot."

Okay, there was definite flirtation there.

Dean made up his face, taking a _long_ sip of beer, the annoyance returning full-force.

"Aw, _Mr. Winchester_! That's so sweet!"

Dean spat out his mouthful of beer, coughing and turning to face her in horror. "You're talking to my _father_?"

Motioning for him to shush, Chloe smiled once more. "I'll do that." Her eyes flashed mischievously. "It was great talking to you as well, was there anything else you needed to tell Dean? Okay then. Have a great day Mr…I mean…_John_." Hanging up, she held the phone to her heart and flashed Dean a little smile. "Your face looks _so_ ridiculous right now."

He, to be honest, was quite horrified. "Don't you _dare_ start to crush on _my father_."

A look of mock shock crossed her face. "But you told me I had to become a Winchester to find out what's in the disinfectant!"

He felt sicker to his stomach than before, leaning hard against the sofa, raising a hand to his face. "What did he say to you?"

"Uhm, well, he said he needed you back saving people, hunting things, the family business." Chloe replied candidly with a shrug of her shoulders. "I assured him you weren't planning on growing roots here and that you were merely acting on the values and principles he'd instilled in you by helping someone in need." She paused. "He got a lot nicer after that."

Dean snorted, unable to believe this, keeping his hand over his eyes. "He told you to call him _John_?"

"Isn't it awesome?"

He groaned.

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Her three favorite men in the whole wide world were eating burgers and watching a game on the television.

Smiling as she chewed on her own burger, Chloe sat on the sofa's armrest next to Dean and watched him trade comments with Clark and Pete. The hunter was the least versed in football, and the two highschoolers were quite happy to fill him in on what was what. Dean knew the basics, but Clark and Pete avidly versed him in the game.

Chloe wondered if Dean had ever really had a normal conversation about a normal topic like football. She'd heard the intensity in John Winchester's voice, had seen the way Dean's own body had gone into a blank nothingness after having spoken to the man earlier, and she'd purposely flattered and flirted. To be honest she hadn't known if she was doing it correctly, but Lois had always told her that if you wanted a guy to stop being bothersome to flirt with him.

Chloe flinched, gaze going to the window.

Lois.

The blonde sighed, letting her mind wander. Usually at least twice a day her mind ventured towards her cousin and her whereabouts. Mostly though, Chloe hoped to high heaven that Lois was happy.

That was all she wanted.

Sometimes Chloe just sat down and imagined her cousin living different lives, and how she enjoyed them. In some fantasies Lois was a model, in another she was a secretary to some big CEO she was having a torrid loved affair with, and yet in another she was an artist having a great life in Paris. There were so many great fantasy lives Lois lived in Chloe's mind, half of them shared with Adam in some way, and the blonde couldn't help but wish with all her life that at least one of these great fantasies was real.

Lois was young and beautiful…why shouldn't one of them be?

"Chloe!" Pete's accusing voice broke her out of her thoughts. "I can't believe you haven't taken Dean to one of the games yet! What sort of Kansas girl _are_ you?"

Chloe smiled, putting down her half-eaten burger down on the plate. "Don't look at me. Dean's the one who's been halfhearted about it."

As expected, both Clark and Pete's expectant gazes went to Dean.

"You so have to come to the game tomorrow night!" Pete announced, obviously quite psyched with the idea. "Watching football on the television isn't the same as seeing it live! It'll blow your mind!"

"Football is the life of almost every guy in Smallville." Clark agreed. "I'm trying out for the team this year as well. My dad, uh, had some problems with me doing it but I don't care. It's important for me."

"I can't believe he's grudgingly letting you try out this year." Pete grinned, nudging Clark's shoulder with his own. "It'll be so cool to have you playing on the team with us!"

"If I get selected." Clark smiled his sheepish little smile.

"You'll get picked for sure!" Pete was ever faithful. "You've got the perfect built for it and everything!"

"And you _know_ Lana will be happy to have a boyfriend she can cheer for on the team." Chloe pointed out, giving her friend a teasing little expression. "Give me a C!"

"C!" Pete echoed, playing along.

"Give me a L!" Chloe pretended to shake invisible popoms.

"L!" Pete chorused, mimicking her pompoms movements.

"Stop it you guys!" Clark groaned, covering his face.

"Give us an A-R-K!" Chloe continued.

"A-R-K!" Pete cheered.

"What does it spell?" Chloe asked.

Clark groaned into his hands. "I hate you guys."

"No..." Pete shook his finger in Clark's face. "It doesn't spell that."

Dean snorted, swallowing a gulp of beer. "You people are ridiculous."

"You know you love us." Chloe rolled her eyes in amusement.

Dean sniggered.

Pete threw a french fry at him.

Dean caught it.

"Show off." Pete grumbled.

Dean smirked and chewed into that fry.

Pete pouted.

Clark laughed as he looked between them.

"So it's settled, you're coming to the game tomorrow night." Pete decided all on his own. "You can watch us kick butt!"

"And you can meet my girlfriend!" Clark announced, before blushing. "I still can't believe she's my girlfriend."

Pete and Chloe met gazes before rolling their eyes.

"Stop ganging up on me!" Clark complained, though he laughed good-naturedly. "You two need to get a boyfriend and girlfriend, _then_ you won't gang up on me and laugh at me all the time."

"Me? A girlfriend? You want me to break girls' hearts everywhere by making myself unavailable to the multitudes?" Pete scoffed, brushing off invisible lint from the front of his shirt. "Don't you know I'm a _playa _who's in _great demand_?"

It was Chloe and _Clark's_ turn to meet glances and roll their eyes.

"I am!" Pete insisted before swallowing his last bit of burger and reaching for his drink.

"I'm not going to tomorrow night's game. Not looking like this." Chloe pointed to her forehead with a pout.

"Why?" Pete made up his face. "Not like you have anyone you're crushing on who'll see it."

Clark raised his eyebrow. "Or is there someone you haven't told us about?"

Chloe flinched at the looks those two were now giving her. "What's with the stink eye?"

"There _is_ someone!" Pete's eyes widened before turning to Dean. "Dude! Who is it?"

"Don't look at me." He snorted, having finished his burger and was starting on his pie. "We don't have sleepovers and braid each other's hair and shit. I know as much of this as you do." He then paused and narrowed his eyes on her much like Pete and Clark had. "This wouldn't have anything to do with _Luthor_ would it?"

Clark and Pete's eyes widened. "Lex Luthor? The guy who ran into you?"

Chloe flinched, bringing her hands to her face. "No!"

Clark laughed. "It _does_! You're _blushing_!"

"I'm _not_!" She squeaked, totally embarrassed by these idiots. "I mean, he's _hot_-."

Dean snorted in derision.

"Shut up. He is." She defended, pulling her hands from her face.

"I can see this getting into a conversation I _do not_ want to be a part of." Dean snorted, standing. "So with that I say good night."

"Night Dean." Pete grinned.

"Night." Clark smiled.

Chloe just gave a little wave.

Stretching, Dean groaned as he headed upstairs.

Chloe watched him till he was gone before turning to her best friends. "So, who's up for some horror movies?"

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There weren't any screams tonight and yet Dean couldn't sleep well. the sandy-blonde was always at the edge of deep sleep, almost refusing to go completely, and in the end he growled as he sat up on the edge of the bed, yawning and running his hands over his face. Shaking his head the hunter stood, padding out of the room in his boxers as he made the trek from his room to Chloe's, hesitating a second before pushing open the door and finding the bed empty. Light hazel eyes scanned the darkened room before narrowing as he turned, heading down the hallway to the stairs. The lights were off all over the house but he had a gut feeling where she was and knew the layout of the place enough not to need light to find his way as he went down the stairs and stopped by the living room.

Sure enough she was sitting on the sofa, a bottle of some sort of alcohol on the table next to her.

"So, which was it tonight?"

She jumped slightly, turning to look at him. "Mom."

Yawning, Dean made his way around the sofa and plopped down next to her in the darkness. "Memory or nightmare?"

"Both." She whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly. "I dreamt about that day, but instead of being by myself Lois and you were there." She closed her eyes tightly. "She killed the both of you and I couldn't do a thing to stop her. You were killed because of _me_."

Dean's sleep slowly evaporated as he turned to face her.

"I know, it's stupid, you could _so_ take on my mother." Chloe shrugged. "It was stupid."

"I've been thinking." Dean cleared his throat. "I know you told me Lois was beginning to teach you basic self defense…I'm going to take over that training." He sighed. "You're never going to feel safe if you can't defend yourself properly."

"You think?" She whispered softly.

He nodded, certain. "We start tomorrow."

She smiled softly, eyes tearing up as she moved so that she was rested against his shoulder, still hugging her knees. "Thanks."

"You're not going to thank me once training starts." He promised , wondering when he'd gotten used to her touchy-feely-ness. "Sammy cursed me six months straight during his."

Chloe burst out laughing, turning her head up to look at him. "That just makes it sound more interesting!"

Rolling his eyes, Dean reached out and ruffled her hair before letting his arm adjust around her shoulder for a more comfortable position. "Just you wait and see. You're going to be eating those words."

"Yes sir." She murmured, yawning, eyes slowly closing. "Or should I call you sensei?"

"Boss will do."

She laughed sleepily. "Yes _Boss_."

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes in silence, and then Dean felt her finally go lax, before starting to snore softly.

"You've got to be kidding me." He whispered, shaking his head as he leaned it back against the sofa, gazing up at the darkened, shadowed ceiling.

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"How does the Michael's Sword's presence change things?" Uriel wanted to know, having returned to Smallville despite the smell because of the importance of this time. "He wasn't supposed to come back."

"That surprised me too actually." Azazel admitted with a grin. "But from what I've been seeing he's doing her good, and that's the sort of stability she needs at the moment."

"Michael's Sword isn't supposed to be a part of this mix. He isn't supposed to come into the picture until the time of his 'unfortunate' demise." Uriel made a face, tapping his fingers against the table. "He could pose a problem."

"How do you suppose he could do so?" Azazel asked curiously, enjoying seeing the angel twitch.

"I don't know." Uriel was annoyed to have to admit that. "But I don't like Michael's True Vessel so close to the Asset. It makes me twitch." As if to prove so he started to scratch his arm. "I thought his interest was in the cousin. With her out of the picture he should have disappeared too."

"Apparently Deanie boy has a bleeding heart," Azazel snorted in amusement. "Can't blame him though...Chloe poses a very fragile, vulnerable picture and he's been taught to protect and defend those weaker than him."

"We should have killed that boy the second he was conceived." Uriel stood and began to pace. "The other is to be protected, but this one is nothing but a threat, a dog waiting to bite."

Azazel gazed at his nails.

"We're incredibly blessed that the last Asset already fulfilled some of the requirements needed and gave birth to the one that will house Lucifer when he rises once more…but Michael's Sword needs to be done away with in a way that can't be traced back to us." Uriel continued to pace. "No one can know what is happening, that an Asset is alive during the lifetime of two True Vessels…that she only has the last half of the Asset's work to perform." The angel took in a deep breath. "Never have we been this close to his Ascension."

"Once she performs the last requirement of my deal with her she'll feel freed and won't suspect anything." Azazel stretched languidly. "Just let things run the course they're meant to go and stop getting your angelic panties in a bunch...your constant worrying is why you have so many wrinkles."

Uriel sniffed at him.

"Just _sit down_ will you?" Azazel rolled his eyes at the tight-ass angel. "For now Dean's presence isn't causing any problems, so I think we should concentrate on other, more important details."

"Such as?" Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"You raised the zombie's corpse again despite the _brilliant_ work Dean did of destroying his head. So what did he have to say?" Azazel wanted to know. "Who is working against us? Who knows about the Asset?"

Uriel grumbled as he finally deigned to sit. "Goodnight's proving to be quite…_stubborn. _I have my best men _interrogating_ him night and day, some of your own are helping as well, Alastair has proven _relentless_ and _creative_ in his means of interrogation."

Azazel grinned at the thought of his Pit Master. "He _does_ enjoy his job."

"So far though we are unable to get him to speak, no matter how many times he ends up dying at our hands and brought back." Uriel pouted.

He _pouted._

"There there, you'll break him soon enough." And yet there wasn't a smile on Azazel's face anymore. "But we _need_ to know who is behind this, and _soon_, so we can counteract whatever their next move will be."

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**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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"Really?" Chloe made a face, sore as hell. They'd started the "training" two hours ago and now were finally finished for the day, so she was laying on the grass and contemplating never getting up ever again.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, wiping at some sweat on his brow as he stood under the hot sun. "Dad says they were hunted with extreme prejudice and now they're practically extinct, if not completely extinct."

"That _sucks_." Chloe made a face. "I didn't mean that as a pun."

Dean snorted. "Vampires are the bad guys. Their being gone is a _good_ thing."

"I guess I get that." The blonde shrugged. "I always kinda had a thing for Dracula though."

"For a moment I thought you were going to mention Twilight." Dean made a face.

"How do you even _know_ about Twilight?" Chloe challenged.

Dean opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "Sparkly vampires. Okay? I heard some girls talking about _sparkly_ vampires and I asked them what the hell they were talking about." He made a face. "I shouldn't have. What the hell is wrong with girls these days? You don't fall in love with fangs. You behead them."

"What if they just had animal's blood or drank blood from blood bags?" Chloe wanted to know. "That wouldn't make them evil, right? It's the whole taking hostages and keeping them as living blood bags that's bad."

"Vampires are evil and need to be put down." Dean corrected. "It's law."

"I disagree." She argued. "If he's not hurting anyone you should leave him alone."

"Look, he might be on this vegetarian regiment for a while, but with bloodsuckers they'll always fall off the bandwagon. Vampires are basically blood addicts, okay?" Dean wiped at some more sweat. "No matter how hard you try, you're going to give into your cravings when the withdrawal gets too much. It's in their nature and that's not going to change because they're monsters."

"You're speciest." She pointed out.

"You're hardheaded." He replied pointblank. "And also fairly delusional. It might be all this sun."

The blonde stuck out her tongue at him for that one. "I'm just open-minded. I didn't grow up in the fifties like _you_ gramps."

He snorted, nudging her shoe with his. "I am _not_ that old!"

She just gave him an insufferable grin and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun's rays on her face.

"Go inside and bathe." Dean threw his towel on her face. "You stink."

A part of her wanted to gasp in mock-horror and some insult at that, but another part of her agreed with the statement. She stunk to high heaven. It was horrible and great in a weird way. With Lois' basics Chloe had learnt enough so that Dean didn't scoff at her effort the _whole_ time, but it proved that her cousin had been going easy on her. Dean wouldn't go easy on her though, taunting and challenging the blonde into a fighting mood every single time she'd been 'too tired' or had sworn she couldn't do whatever he was telling her to do. It was sneaky and underhanded, but considering she'd done things with him today that she hadn't been able to under Lois' patient tutoring...well...it'd worked.

She was worn out, utterly lifeless, and yet she felt more alive than she had in a very long time.

And yet...and yet Chloe couldn't really truly enjoy this moment. Ever since last night something had been weighing heavily on her mind, and a couple of times she'd been about to address the issue before shying away and instead letting herself be immersed in the lesson. But now that it was over and they were so close and in such a companionable mood the teenager couldn't hold back any longer...even though a part of her really wanted to.

Taking in a deep breath, the girl finally put into words what had been on her mind all morning. "I didn't scream."

"Huh?"

"Last night." The blonde rested her arm over her eyes. "I didn't scream."

There was a pause. "I know that."

"Then why did you come downstairs?"

Another pause, this one longer. "I just knew."

She closed her eyes tighter. It was as she'd expected. He hadn't allowed himself sleep because he'd known she'd need him to wake her up.

She was affecting his life just like she'd affected Lois'…and the girl didn't want to do that, didn't want to drive him away the same way she had her father and cousin.

"That place in Star City….I've been looking into it some more and I think it might be a good fit."

The pause continued. "I don't think checking yourself into a Quack Hospital is going to help you. That sort of place will set you insane."

"The place doesn't have the criminally insane or anything, it's just for people with issues, and they specialize in sleeping disorders." She took in a deep sigh, before letting it out. "And even if it _did_ have the criminally insane I would be right at home."

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" Dean's voice was gruff.

"Well, you know my mom's locked up in a high-security mental asylum." Chloe pressed her arm harder against her face. "What you don't realize is that my biological father is as well."

"I thought you told me he was in some maximum-security prison?" Dean's voice was gruffer.

"He is." She sighed. "But it's for the worse psychopaths out there. When he's not spouting out hallelujahs and praising the Lord he's medicated to the bone and doesn't even realize when he craps himself."

"Jesus." Dean hissed.

Finally pulling her arm from her face, the blonde turned towards him, staring up into his face. "I'm thinking about interning myself into the hospital until the apartment's ready." She hesitated a second before pulling herself up into a sitting position. "It kills a couple of birds with one stone, actually. You're not tied down with me, I'll be getting treatment that could maybe help me, and I'll have a place to stay while the construction is being done."

"You're honestly considering this." Dean's eyes widened as his lips pulled in a grim line. "Look-."

"Your dad needs you, Dean. He's riding your case about it and he's right." She sighed, wiping her forehead from the beads of sweat. "You need to be out there doing what you do best, what you _love_ to do, _not_ babysitting me."

"I'd hardly call it babysitting." Dean folded his arms over his chest, just as sweaty as she was but horribly comfortable in it. "And anyway, I get free alcohol, food and cable out of the deal."

Her lips twitched as she smiled fondly at the gruff man who did his best to hide his heart of gold. "Your dad's gonna come here and drag you away in probably two more weeks." She saw the agreement of that fact awkwardly flash on his face, giving him a crooked smile as she reached out and wiped at a bead of sweat making its way down the side of his face. "Thank you for everything you've done, but I won't let you put your life on whole like Lois did. I _won't_."

"I'm not-." Dean sucked breath in through his teeth, obviously annoyed as he turned his gaze away from her. "The hell. You've already decided anyway." Pulling away from her he stood and stalked towards the house. "I'm going to bathe."

Chloe watched him go, worrying her bottom lip.

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This kid was becoming less and less like Sammy and more and more like Dean.

How many times had Dean done the exact same thing the kid was? Especially when he'd been her age! Anytime he'd felt someone getting close he'd start pushing them away, telling himself that it was for everyone's best if he stopped things before they got too complicated. He'd do things to intentionally sabotage friendships or relationships in the making, and he'd grown up doing the exact same thing. That was why he was twenty three years old and didn't have one single person he could truly call his friend. Especially not someone his age. Hell. The kid was probably the only person he'd ever had something that could be called genuine friendship. Lois didn't count because of the simple fact that he found her hot as hell and considering she hadn't seemed immune to him either he'd always figured they'd end up in bed together at some point…so that tainted things.

Lois.

Sighing, Dean turned the water hotter, washing the shampoo out.

He was seriously worrying about her.

There was no way that she left Chloe willingly.

_No way_.

Dean thought about everything he'd experienced since becoming a guest at the Sullivan residence, and the thought that Lois had had to deal with that for so long by herself…his respect for her grew.

He didn't care how shaky her faith in herself had gotten after the Luthor castle incident, Lois had the same loyalty Dean did, which meant she'd just needed a little time to vent and drink and then come up with a new course of action. There was no way she'd pack up and leave the kid on her own like this. And how about this whole "Lois Lane" doesn't exist crap? No. Something had had a hand in all of this, and Dean couldn't get Bobby's question out of his head.

What would whatever it was get out of this?

A part of Dean wanted to think that being the daughter of a General would make Lois a perfect ransom of sorts, but he couldn't help but feel that Chloe was being isolated, and that made him even more frustrated with her new desire to send him back to his father and to check herself into some mental asylum.

Another part of Dean knew that Chloe was right though, that his father wouldn't stop in his pressuring for Dean to return to the fold, and while he didn't like it, that quack house (if it was all she swore it was) might be the safest place for her to be while she was practically homeless.

And he _did_ need to go to his father, to see him face to face and get some answers about mom, about what had happened to her, and _why_. Considering Margaret had insinuated that Chloe and his mother were connected somehow, then the more he knew about what had happened to his mother, the more he could help the kid. Could protect her. He also knew that until he faced his father and stood his ground, that the man wouldn't stop ordering Dean back to the fold.

He didn't want to leave.

It surprised him how much he didn't.

But he needed to talk to his father and get the facts straight...

...didn't mean he'd let her stay in this quack place until he'd at least checked it out.

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For being a guy, Dean took a _very_ long time showering and grooming, unlike Chloe, who was in and out of the shower and dressed rather quickly. She'd brushed her wet, tangled hair, and put it up into a ponytail before sticking her head out of the room into the hallway, hearing Dean's shower still on. Considering he was in a sulk he'd probably take longer, and would probably head downstairs for a drink…wouldn't think to come in here and look in on her. Not now at least.

"Ready?"

Twirling around, hand to her scarred heart, Chloe gave a little gasp. "I hate it when you do that!"

Azazel sat on the thickest branch on the tree right outside her window. "So jumpy."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde went to the window, hesitating. "I don't like heights."

The demon outstretched his hand. "You're not going to fall."

Making a face at him, the teenager slowly climbed up onto her windowsill and began reaching out towards him, trying to keep balanced and not fall.

The second their fingertips touched there was a flash of light and darkness, and a tugging at her stomach as air rushed out of her lungs…

…and then she stood in front of the Luthor Castle, the loud sounds of reconstruction echoing all around greeting her. There were vans and trucks from a Metropolis construction company, cranes and other equipment everywhere, men in hard hats and tool or material walking passed her, deep in their own conversations.

"Go on now." Azazel, standing a little behind her now, gave her back a soft push. "Just like we discussed." He seemed to read her hesitancy. "Just do this one little thing, and Dean's life isn't in my hands anymore. You're both free."

Free.

Sending him a look over her shoulder, Chloe slowly began her trek towards the large doors, fighting the urge to run away. Images of everything that'd happened in this place made her pale and nauseas, and yet she forced each foot in front of the other until finally she crossed over the threshold, a cold shiver making its way down her spine.

"Hey! Kid!" Someone yelled at her, storming towards her. "This isn't a playhouse! Get lost!"

She cleared her throat, squaring her shoulders. "I'm here to see Mr.-_Lex_."

The man sneered at her. "Mr. Luthor doesn't have time to donate to whatever high school charity-."

"I think I'll decide what I have time for." A cold voice cut the man short, and both of them turned to see Lex emerge from the corner. "You can go back to doing _your job_ now."

"Yes sir Mr. Luthor sir!" The man, pale and put in place, scurried away.

"I apologize for that." Lex turned his gaze towards her, the coldness leaving his voice and face as he smiled invitingly. "Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"You have the kitchen working already?" She asked in shock, remembering just how _horrible_ condition the kitchen had been before.

Lex's lips twitched in amusement. "No." He moved towards her fluidly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Chloe jumped, flinching away from the touch before wincing and looking away. "Sorry…I have this thing about being touched." She hugged herself. "Please don't take it personally."

He paused, eyeing her with a frown. "Is this a result of what happened here?"

For a second she wanted to just say yes, but she couldn't, ending up shaking her head as she hugged herself tighter. "No."

"I see." He didn't, but was obviously graceful enough to not ask as he motioned for her to turn around as he began to walk them right back outside. She wasn't exactly sure what he was up to, but decided to just go with it as they walked passed the many different people and vehicles and massive equipment until they turned over the side of the Luthor Castle to see the huge RV that'd been unseen before.

Chloe stopped in her tracks, eyes widening and her mouth falling open as she gasped. "It's _huge_!"

"I required adequate boarding while the renovations are taking place." Lex smiled as he led her towards the entrance. "I have the men working 24/7 in rotating shifts so that work will be more productive. This way I can supervise them at every moment and I'll be at hand should they need me."

"People in town must have been lining up on each side of the street to watch this thing being driven in." Chloe whispered in awe as he opened the door.

"It was flown in."

She hesitated on the steps, turning to look at the man who'd said that so casually.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

"Nothing." She whispered, shaking her head in amazement at how flying in a huge ass RV was nothing for him. Given that she had to admit that she was more eager now to see the inside of the RV, the girl hurried up the steps and paused by the door. She was about to step aside and let him open it when Lex leaned in behind her, careful not to touch her, and turned the knob, sliding the door open. "Thanks."

Stepping inside Chloe's breath was blown away by how gorgeous it was, so much more than a RV should. It was probably classier and more expensive than any of the hotels she'd ever been to, and the fixtures were like something from a Hollywood movie set.

"What would you like?" Lex passed her, heading towards wherever the kitchen was. "I believe we have water, a variety of soda drinks…_brandy_." He offered the last bit jokingly.

"You like brandy?" She asked in surprise, following him through the luxurious thing, awestruck by everything she saw.

"Among other things." He nodded as they finally reached the kitchen…which was _so_ much better than the one she had at her home.

"Oh _wow_." A part of her was annoyed at how taken in she was with this richness, but she ignored it and just _drooled_. "I can see why you wouldn't want to stay anywhere else but here. This…this is _amazing_."

"To be honest I haven't really thought much of it." He admitted wryly, leaning with his hip against the granite countertop.

She could appreciate his straightforwardness, and decided to repay him in kind. "I would appreciate it if Dean never knows I was here."

An eyebrow raised. "I have no reason to comment on this visit with him."

"Thank you." She nodded, leaning against the wall as she cleared her throat. "I _need_ to warn you against accepting what I'm here to offer you...if it was up to me I wouldn't be offering you it in the first place. I _really_ don't want you to accept it." Her green eyes stared pleadingly into his baby blues. "_Please_ don't."

"You're not a good saleswoman." Lex half joked as he narrowed his eyes on her curiously. "But I have to admit, I'm intrigued."

The blonde sighed as she hugged herself and tore her gaze from his, staring at the sink. "I'm serious. You can't accept my offer...no matter how tempted you are." She closed her eyes tightly. "If I was a more selfless person I'd refuse this condition, I'd take whatever punishment he could dish out even if it meant nullifying my contract, but I'm not the only one who'd be adversely affected if I backed out now." Her eyes opened and trained on him once more. "I want _out_ too much...and so will _you_ if you accept this offer. Maybe not at first, but later down the line when the gravity of what you've done hits you'll wish you'd listened to my warning."

By now Lex's expression was completely serious as his narrowed gaze fixed solely on her. "What's the offer?"

He was interested.

Damn it!

She groaned, leaning back with her elbows against the counter as she closed her eyes with a sigh, head tilted back. "You're not listening to me...which he told me would happen." The blonde shook her head before sighing as her green orbs opened once more in resignation. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't." He replied coolly. "What am I being offered? And who is offering it?"

"Anything. Everything." Chloe lifted herself up onto the counter unceremoniously with a sigh as she stared at him. "And to be completely honest, I'm still not sure if he's a "who" or a "what"."

"_What_?" Lex made a face.

"Exactly." She nodded, hesitating even now before reaching into her bra and pulling out a folded piece of paper. "You'll need to summon him for a business meeting." Chloe brought a hand to her head. "Well, actually you don't _have_ to summon him considering he's waiting for you, but he's a sucker for a good ritual."

Lex eyed her as if she was insane.

She ignored that look. "There's two ways to summon him. One is a personalized ritual, and the other would be the more routine way like going to a crossroads and telling whatever agent you get that the boss is expecting you." She shrugged. "He recommends this ritual though. It's quick, easy, and most of what you need can be bought at the local grocery store."

One step, two, brought Lex in her personal space as he took the piece of paper from between her fingers, unfolding it in silence as he went over the ritual depicted and the ingredients listed. "You can't be serious."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Like a heart attack."

He eyed her in silence, as if weighing her soul, before drawing away. "You accepted an offer."

"He told me I could try to dissuade you as much as I wanted because no matter how much I warned you you'll still summon him." She slipped off of the counter. "Nothing you might think you want is worth your soul, Lex. _Nothing_. So please, don't do it." Taking in a deep breath, she turned and walked away, leaving the bald billionaire behind her in silence.

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Lex leaned against the wall, fingering the blinds on the window open enough so he could watch the young blonde as she walked away from the RV. She seemed resigned, that air of mystery just seeming to grow around her with every step she took, her hair blowing in the window.

A little ahead of her stood a man Lex hadn't seen before. This man was tall, older, with a smirk on his face as he waited for the girl to reach him.

Was this the "what" that she'd been referring to?

He'd read the old German legend enough to read between the lines, the mention of the girl's "contract" and references to his soul being in jeopardy more than enough to let him know this was apparently some sort of Faustian deal.

What he didn't get was if Chloe was playing a joke on him, or if she truly believed what she was selling.

The man asked her something.

She sighed and mumbled her answer before looking up at him and asking something in return.

The man gazed down at her and smiled a wicked little smile with a nod, outstretching his arms as if demanding a hug.

The teen hesitated a second before stepping forwards and wrapping her arms around his waist.

The man's arms went around her back and his eyes rose to meet Lex's as they flashed an inhuman gold...and then in a blink of an eye the man and Chloe were gone from sight.

Frozen, Lex let the blinds slip back into place in utter shock.

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**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

Lex - 23

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Dean was safe.

She was free.

Chloe's heart just over-filled with happiness as she climbed back into her bedroom window and tumbled onto the floor with a satisfying thud. The blonde remained laying on her back on the ground, staring up at the ceiling with a stupid-ass smile on her face as she chuckled.

It was over.

It was _over_!

Dean wouldn't just fall down dead if she somehow failed to complete the conditions to the contract! He was safe and sound, his life his once more and not in jeopardy-at least because of _her_. She wouldn't be at fault if his life was cut short. She didn't have to keep having nightmares that she screwed up and was forced to watch the life draining out of his eyes as he collapsed in front of her.

Closing her eyes, Chloe let out a little relieved breath, enjoying the cool of the tile beneath her.

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Considering Chloe had still been in her room when he'd finished bathing Dean had left her to her own devices and went down to the living room to grab her laptop. He kept the television off, feet up on the ottoman as he logged onto her desktop and unrepentantly went through her browser history. A voice in his head that sounded a lot like Sammy whispered that this wasn't a nice thing to do, that it was violation of privacy.

Like always, Dean ignored that voice.

Finally he paused on what he'd been looking for and clicked on it, a website for a Loony Bin in Star City popping up. He got more comfortable as he began reading the information while simultaneously running a check on Google for anything related to the institution. The hunter made a face at the fact that the institution ran two divisions, one a maximum security lockdown for real insane nutjobs, while the other was a "research clinic" dedicated to "alternative treatment and research".

He didn't like the term "research", made him feel like whoever was there would become some sort of guinea pig.

Chloe's footsteps were rapid and loud on the stairs before she jumped off and slid into the living room, eyes flashing and mischievous, smile bright. "Are you looking at porn again?"

He flashed her the most irritated look he could muster. "I have _never_-."

"Despite the fact that it's in cartoon form, I _know_ what "hentai" anime is you know." The blonde rolled her eyes, that smile more mischievous as she came towards him and threw herself next to the hunter on the sofa, finally getting a glimpse of what was on the screen. Her smile slipped for half a second before transforming into a more wry one. "It's a real neat place."

"It's on the same compound of a maximum security nuthouse." Dean pointed out, still very much against that.

"But there's no interaction between the two places." She promised. "And I wouldn't be _staying_ there permanently. It'd just be for a little bit to see if these "alternative methods" of treatment actually work." She worried her bottom lip. "I don't want to be on a million different meds Dean, but if this doesn't work I can't see any other way around it." She sidled him a sideways glance. "And I don't want other people's lives screwed with because of my issues."

Ah, this was all about last night.

"I'm a light sleeper." Dean mumbled with a shrug.

"Not _that_ light." She raised an eyebrow.

"How would you know?" He countered with a raised eyebrow. "Anything could be sneaking up on me in my sleep. I hunt monsters for a _living_. Don't kid yourself that I'm just like that for you."

And damn it, that was mean.

Chloe flinched, looking away, before pulling her legs up to hug to her chest. "True." She mulled it over for a couple of minutes before sending him a curious little look. "Maybe you want to become a part of the study group?"

"Study group?" He raised an eyebrow. "Not likely."

"Thought not." She chuckled, shaking her head as she slid towards him, resting her head against his shoulder as he finally minimized the window to view the desktop picture, which was of Lois and Chloe covered in mud and laughing.

Dean's lips twitched as he gazed at the picture, the girls' eyes twinkling in merriment as they flung an arm around each other's shoulders, laughing. The feeling of family, of deep love and acceptance, was there in this picture, and Dean wondered why everyone in this little town hadn't noticed it. They couldn't have, otherwise they wouldn't be able to believe that Lois had actually left of her own free will.

There was no way.

"Daytime actress." Chloe muttered, reaching out to trace Lois' figure on the monitor.

"Huh?" Dean raised an eyebrow, rearranging himself so he could be more comfortable in this new position, ending up resting his arm over her shoulders.

"Today's "Maybe's She's A:..."" the girl fascinated him sometimes with the weird things that went on in her mind. "Today, I'm sure she's trying out for some daytime soap opera." She let go of her hold on her legs and turned slightly, resting her cheek against his chest and staring up into his face. "Maybe even Dr. Sexy M.D."

His lips twitched at the very thought. "Dr. Sexy M.D. is a night time _drama_. I do _not_ watch _soap operas_."

She grinned brightly, teeth showing. "You like Days of Our Lives."

"I do not." Dean insisted, although he was smiling at the very same time. "Though I have to admit, that Eric Brady guy wasn't half bad."

"Oh my god! Eric left Salem _ages_ ago!" Chloe gave a wicked little crow of amusement as she slapped his chest. "You've watched that show before!"

"No I haven't!" Dean tried to assure her, but his own mouth had betrayed him, causing the hunter to groan. "I had a girlfriend for a while, Cassie, and she kinda liked the show. I watched with her."

Chloe went still, eyeing him thoughtfully.

For some reason her deep examination made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"You've actually had a real girlfriend before? Not just some random hook up?"

"Kids shouldn't say 'hook up'." he tried to hedge.

"I'm turning sixteen in less than a month." She leveled him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm legal then. So you can't keep referring to me as a kid."

That news shocked him, and admittedly threw him through a loop.

Chloe pulled away from him and sat up on her knees, interest in her wide green eyes. "What was she like?"

That awkwardness returned four-fold as Dean was forced to think back to the time he'd spent with Cassie in Athens, Ohio. "Uhm, she was smart, beautiful, I don't know what else to say." Damn it, but he was uncomfortable.

"How did you two meet?"

"She was studying and I was on a hunt."

The girl was not put off by his vagueness. "Studying what? Hunting what?"

"Journalism. A ghost near her college campus."

"How long did you guys go out?" Chloe continued eyeing him intensely.

He squirmed under her glance. "A couple of months."

There was silence, and then she sighed, turning once more and leaning against him, fitting perfectly in the crook of his arm as she rested her head over his heartbeat. "Sorry."

"For what?" He made a face, arm resting around her shoulder once more.

"She broke up with you." Chloe replied, resting her arm around him in a half hug. "Was it because she found out about what you do? Was it too much for her to handle?"

Dean froze before looking down at the golden head resting on his chest. How had this girl been able to see through him like that so easily? Was he so transparent?

He only grunted, unable and unwilling to continue this topic any further.

"You wanna go to the game tonight?" Chloe asked softly, once more able to read him with horrifying ease. "We can watch Coach Arnold scream at everyone from the sidelines."

"Coach Arnold?" He was admittedly relieved in the change in conversation.

"Yep, he's the school's football coach. I...I don't like him much." Chloe admitted. "Sure, he's brought victory to the Crows since he took over coaching, and he's been there for _years_...but there's just something about him that I can't take to."

The computer began to make this _very_ odd sound.

Something popped up on the screen.

Chloe reached out and tapped something, and then an image appeared on the screen. It was grainy at first, hard to make out...and then Sammy came into view. "Hey Sam!"

"Hey! How-?" Sam's smile froze on his face as his eyes slowly narrowed, growing tenser. "Hey."

Dean raised an eyebrow, wondering at the change in the guy.

"You are _never_ on skype." Chloe got a little more comfortable as she faced the screen. "What's going on?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Sam mumbled to himself, sending Dean a look that seemed judgmental and condemning as well as disbelieving, before returning a small smile to Chloe. "How's everything on your side?"

"Great!" She grinned as she leaned in closer against Dean so as to get a better view, seeming not to notice Sam's oddness. "How about the revision quiz you were studying for? How did that go?"

"Aced it." Sam grinned proudly.

"Yay!" Chloe laughed, patting Dean's stomach in lieu of clapping.

Dean grunted. "Easy!"

"Oh, take it like a man!" She laughed, patting his stomach harder.

"Jesus." He grabbed her hand in his and held it in the air, away from his stomach. "This is _abuse_."

"You know, for a big bad hunter, you're a _real_ wuss." Her voice trembled with hardly contained laughter as she grinned up into his face mischievously.

He narrowed his eyes as her but ultimately allowed her to slide her hand free and return to that half hug around his waist.

Sam watched them, his bitch face obviously _dying_ to appear although he fought it valiantly.

Still though, what the hell was wrong with him?

"How's Jess doing?" Chloe asked, proving that she was oblivious to the annoyance on his brother's features.

"She had something to do with some of her friends that I _really_ didn't want to join in so I begged off and stayed home." Sam replied sheepishly.

Home.

Dean cleared his throat and looked away.

For Sammy "home" was Stanford...and Dean was really beginning to not blame him anymore for that. A part of him actually understood the boy somewhat.

"I was actually thinking about maybe visiting this weekend, see how the two of you are." Sam announced oddly.

Dean could feel Chloe stiffening against him, probably reminded that by the weekend she'd have had to move out of her home so her father's replacement could move in.

"Why don't we visit _you_?" Chloe surprised them both by asking. "I have..._stuff_...and it makes no sense for you to come here. Why don't Dean and I stop by and spend the weekend with _you_ instead?"

This actually could be something that could keep the girl's thoughts off of her homelessness.

"Yeah, we should do that." Dean agreed. "Plus, I haven't seen your dorm digs in that posh little school of yours."

"I, uh, moved out of the dorm after what happened there." Sam sent Chloe a little flinch at the mention. "I got an apartment close by."

"Perfect! We're inviting ourselves over!" Chloe grinned brightly.

Sam thought it over for a second before nodding and smiling.

The conversation came easy after that and they never did make it to the game.

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Dean jolted up in the bed, gasping, body covered in sweat despite the AC blowing full blast. He brought his hand to his throbbing head, shaking it, unable to remember the nightmare that'd awoken him in the middle of the night, but somehow knowing that it'd been about Chloe. The remnants of his fear from the dream bled into reality as the young hunter pushed out of bed and stumbled out of the room, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

Making his way towards the familiar path towards her bedroom, Dean pushed the door open and stared inside, finding it dark yet empty.

Downstairs.

She had to be downstairs.

Pace quickening, Dean reached the stairs and descended two steps at a time, his bare feet touching the cold wooden floor as he hurried towards the living room...sliding to a stop when he found it empty as well.

Cursing, looking around him in the darkness as he ran a hand over his head, Dean headed towards the kitchen, his heart rising up his throat to find it empty as well.

"Goddamn it!" He hissed, trying to figure out where she was, and what was going on. "Chloe! Damn it! Where the fuck are you?"

A shadow moved outside passed the window.

He didn't even think about the danger, racing towards the door and unlocking it.

Flinging it open he raced outside. "Chloe?" The young hunter looked around for the human figure he'd seen seconds before but there was no one there.

The scent of smoke reached his nostrils.

Taking in a couple of whiffs, a crackling sound caught his attention and Dean looked up towards Chloe's bedroom window, eyes widening in horror to see the room lit up with a horrifying orange, smoke escaping through the window.

"_No_."

To be honest Dean hadn't even realized he'd started running back into the house until he hit the stairs, stumbling the first couple of steps as he raced up.

"CHLOE!"

He reached the top of the stairs and continued running, his bare feet slipping a couple of times on the tile but he somehow managed to keep his balance as he raced into the room, which was now an inferno, fire consuming everything.

"_Dean_..."

Terror filled him at that pained voice, froze him for a minute before he finally was able to gaze up above...to where Chloe was pinned to the roof, stomach and chest sliced up, fire all around her.

Suddenly Dean was transported to his past, to when as a young kid he rushed into this very same scenario, and his father had given him his little brother and told him to rush outside.

Instead of his mother though, Chloe was the one reaching a hand pleadingly towards him.

"_No_!" He yelled, finally jolted out of his horror as he tried to get closer. "No! You can't fucking have her!"

A tear formed in the corner of her eyes and trailed down her blackening cheeks before an explosion of fire sent Dean flying out of the room, his back hitting the hallway wall.

"NO!" Dean screamed, trying to get back into the room, but the door slammed, locking from the inside. "NO!"

"Dean!" Chloe's voice screamed from the room. "_Dean_!"

"NO!" Dean slammed his shoulder desperately into the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Dean!"

"_DEAN_!"

Suddenly Dean's eyes flew open, darkness all around him, a figure leaning over him, hands on his shoulders. On instinct he reacted, reaching for the figure and yanking it down over him onto the bed. He flipped them over so that he straddled the figure, hand sliding under his pillow to pull out his knife and had it to the person's neck before the person could even react.

The body beneath him tensed up yet didn't fight him.

Eyes slowly growing accustomed to the darkness, and Dean gasped as he recognized the girl under his blade, removing it immediately and letting it fall to the bed harmlessly.

"You were screaming." Chloe whispered, staring up at him, not at all scared despite his having had a knife to her throat seconds ago.

Dean stared down at her, the nightmare he'd just awoken from still plaguing him, filling him with nausea.

"_Dean_?" She whispered, reaching up to rub his thighs with worry. "Are you okay?"

He could still smell her burning flesh, hear her screams.

Dean barely managed to throw himself off of her and reach the toilet in time to bend over and vomit. Images of his mother and of Chloe interchanging over and over again in his mind just causing him to be sicker as he collapsed to his knees and let everything he'd eaten come out.

In a role reversal Chloe was there, rubbing his back, whispering soothingly.

"It was just a bad dream." She whispered, voice hoarse with sleep as she rubbed circles into the small of his back. "It wasn't real."

He felt so stupid and pitiful right now.

How could a damn nightmare have affected him like this?

He wasn't a fucking kid anymore!

Finally, once it was over, he flushed the toilet and went to the sink, gargling and spitting out water before washing his face and staring at the reflection in the mirror. "Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah." She sat on the now closed lid of the toilet, watching him with worried curiosity. "But don't worry, I was having a nightmare as well, so I was relieved to get that wake up call." She made up her face. "It was a new one too. I mean, I've had some frigged up dreams before...but I've never dreamt that I was on _fire_ before."

Dean froze, his face going horribly pale, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Chloe stretched, yawning. "Want a beer?"

Dean tightened his grip on the sink, unable to look away from her reflection in horror.

Cracking her neck, trying to run her fingers through her hair but it was too tangled, Chloe yawned once more before turning her attention to his hunched over back. "Dean?" She frowned slightly. "You okay?"

He finally managed to tear his gaze away from her reflection as he turned around to face her, eyes narrowed, fists clenched. "I need to see my father. _Now_."

Surprise and confusion filled her eyes as she tilted her head to the side. "Are you, uh, leaving now or in the morning?"

He narrowed his gaze on her.

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**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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"I can't believe we're doing this." Chloe announced for what was probably the hundredth time since they'd started this trip. She sat on the front passenger's seat, staring out of the Impala's open window as breeze played with her hair. "I _also_ can't believe you called Pete and somehow arranged for him, Clark and Lana to do _free slave labor_ and pack up everything for us." She shook her head. "And that you got Clark to ask his dad to let us store the things in his barn's loft until we get back."

"Obviously you underestimate me." Dean smirked, sending the girl a glance, watching her tap her fingers against 'Pala in time to 'Love Hungry Man'.

"I can't believe I'm missing school." She chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head. "And I've left the Torch to Pete and Clark to run." The blonde turned her head towards him. "Think of it as you letting Pete or Clark drive the 'Pala."

Dean flinched at the very thought.

"_Exactly_." And yet she was grinning brightly, obviously enjoying herself.

Dean had noticed for the last couple of days on the road as he headed towards where his father was that Chloe was truly having a good time. She chewed down on the greasy food, went to the bushes without complaint if there wasn't a bathroom close by when she absolutely needed to go, and after the first night told him it made no sense to have two rooms when he was going to end up in hers because of her screaming.

That'd been somewhat awkward the first couple of nights, sleeping in the same room as the girl, but after the first three or so nights he had to admit that he'd gotten used to having her that near. Sure, she talked on and on and _on_ during the nights and kept him awake half of the time, but he'd noticed that whenever she was gone the room seemed really quiet. Obviously he'd gotten used to her nonstop talking and that both amused and intrigued him.

She was no Sammy.

He was learning that more and more each and every day...but he was okay with it.

Chloe started singing along with the song. "Don't want no conversation, I need _sweet_ sensation, and all I want to do is make a meal out of you!" She grinned, shaking her head to the music. "'Cause I'm a love, love hungry, hungry man...I got to get my hands on you!"

Dean's lips twitched in amusement as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm to the song as the killer guitar solo took over.

Chloe bobbed her head to the music, pretending to play the guitar.

The young hunter laughed as the music interlude drew to an end. "I'm your love hungry man, oh baby you're such a treat."

Chloe turned towards him, pointing towards him. "And you know, a man's got to eat!"

They shared amused grins and winks as they continued singing along with AC/DC.

Dean couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun on a road trip. Even with Sammy there'd been bickering because the boy had absolutely _no taste_ and had always bitched about Dean's cassette collection and his musical choices.

"God, I can't believe I'd never heard of these guys before you." Chloe leaned hard against the seat when the song ended and another began, tilting her head, gaze and smile in his direction.

Dean nodded, pleased with her genuine enjoyment of his music. "Well, at least you have good taste. Sammy always hated me blaring this all the time."

"I can imagine that. I see Sammy as the more classical kind anyway." Chloe admitted, a soft smile taking over her features. "I see him listening to the great classical geniuses while studying, country's greatest when depressed, and something hip and modern whenever he's just looking for a musical high."

Dean raised an eyebrow at that, sending her a sideways glance. "Think about Sammy often?"

She raised an eyebrow right back at him. "Is this the part where you interrogate me on my intentions towards your little brother?"

He couldn't help but smirk at that. "I was wondering if I had to interrogate _him_...considering he has a girlfriend and all that."

"Well, you can rest assured that our boat has sailed away." Chloe responded, looking ahead of her at the road.

A bit of his amusement slipped at that as he frowned. "What exactly do you mean?"

Chloe poked her tongue out the side of her lips in thought for a moment before turning to lean on her side on the seat, staring at him. "What has Sam told you about the California trip?"

Dean hesitated, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "You two met through a mutual friend, some idiots raised a pedophile ghost who had a thing for virgins, and then he told me who'd made it out alive."

Chloe thought for a moment, nibbling her bottom lip. "He left out a _lot_."

"Did he now?" Dean didn't understand why he felt _very_ uneasy at the moment.

"At some point early on Sam got possessed by Spencer." Chloe delivered that chilling revelation with calmness and a shrug. "And I was the only virgin in the whole dorm-plus I was the only one close to the age that Spencer liked his girls to be. Everyone else was too old for his taste."

Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel, every muscle in his body tensed, one jumping in his cheek.

"I didn't realize Sam was possessed at the time, and, well, I was flattered and a little desperate." The blonde groaned in embarrassment, covering her eyes with her hand. "I _really_ wanted to lose my virginity. Why not to your brother? If he was anything like you I knew I could trust him...and he's _so easy_ on the eyes." She sighed. "I didn't realize it was Spencer wearing your brother's skin."

Dean's grip on the steering wheel proved painful as his narrowed eyes stayed on the road ahead on them.

"We didn't-Sam overpowered Spencer and threw him out before-_God_ I was mortified when I realized what had almost happened!" Chloe groaned, shaking her head, finally tearing her hands from her face. "But he was so nice about everything and didn't tell anyone and, well, I've still got my virginity intact." She made a face. "Sometimes it's hard to look at Jess though because I feel a little guilty—even though they weren't together at the time."

"So...you have a thing for my little brother."

"No!" And yet she was blushing like crazy. "I don't! Really!"

Dean snorted, gaze going to the sign letting them know they were entering the town where his father was. "You were going to give up your virginity to him."

"I already told you, I want to get rid of this." She frowned at him. "Every psycho I meet seems to know I'm a virgin and wants to take it himself. I want to lose it on my own terms, to someone who doesn't disgust me, or scare me. Sam was perfect." She folded her arms over her chest, pouting moodily. "I tried with Wade...but I couldn't."

"The _fuck_?" Dean choked on his saliva, turning to look at her in disbelief. "He's too old for you!"

"What are you? My _father_?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, definitely annoyed as she glared at him.

_No, I'm not your father, and the easiest way to tell is that I actually give a damn about you!_

But he managed to bite that back as he returned her glare full-force.

The rest of the drive was done in tense silence as they made their way towards the motel where his father was currently holed up in. It was a shitty little place like usual, and a lot shittier than the ones Dean only now realized he'd stayed in so far on this road trip. Usually these were the type of motels he'd go to automatically, but with the teenage girl in tow the hunter realized he'd subconsciously chosen better places for her to spend the nights in.

Shaking his head at that, Dean got a room with two queens and paid for it with one of his credit cards, this one under the name Angus Young, ushering the moody girl into the room.

Chloe hesitated for a second once she did so, shouldering her duffel bag despite his silent offer to take it for her. "Wow."

Dean flinched, closing the door behind them and getting a good view of the place.

"It's like the 40's got sick and vomited all over this room!" Chloe exclaimed, heading towards the bed furthest from the door, already knowing him enough to know that he preferred to sleep between her and the door. "This is so retro!"

Dean made a face, dropping his own bag on his bed and looking around, wondering why this bothered him all of a sudden. If the girl didn't care, why did he?

She dropped her bag and hurried towards the bathroom, flinging the door open and peeking her head inside as she flipped on the light switch. "Whoa."

Making a face, Dean scratched his eyebrow. "Get, uh, comfortable. I'm going to go make sure that dad's actually in this motel."

She waved him away, far too interested in whatever was in the damned bathroom.

Shuffling his weight on his feet, Dean grunted and turned to the door, making sure to lock it behind him. He looked to his left and right, making sure that there were no suspicious looking characters around before pocketing his keys and walking towards the room number his father had told him he'd be in.

Finally finding the number, Dean let out a breath of air before knocking on the door. "Dad, it's me."

There was a hesitation before the door was unlocked and opened enough for a vial of holy water to be sprinkled on his face. "Christo!"

Dean wiped at the water on his face. "Hello to you too."

The door closed, the chain removed, and then the door opened again to reveal his father. "Can never be too sure, especially considering how happy you were to just play the civilian for two whole months."

Dean cleared his throat, venturing inside as his father locked the door behind him. The younger hunter opened his mouth when he frowned, seeing the newspaper clippings and such pinned up. "You're on a case."

"Of course I am." John scoffed, going to the desk, where his journal and other items were placed. "Unlike _someone_ I actually do my job."

Dean bit back his surprising surge of annoyance with his father, the feeling throwing him through a loop. He had always been the exemplary son, the perfect soldier who lived for the hunt and followed his father's orders without question. Since when had he started getting annoyed and frustrated and resentful?

"There's been some killings that have been going around attributed to a tall, slender person with elongated face who has glowing red eyes and spews out blue or green fire from his mouth. Supposedly he's fast and witnesses have said they've seen him jumping great heights." John went to his board, going over the facts. "The victims have been young girls, their ages ranging from thirteen to nineteen. There's been sexual molestation in most, if not all, of the cases."

Dean felt himself go sick as he stared at the pictures of the bodies of these girls, all broken and exposed. He'd seen so much worse since he was a child...so why did these pictures affect him so deeply?

"They've been sliced up by some pointed steel device...which isn't that big if the incisions can be believed." John was mechanical as he relayed the facts. "It's almost claw-like, but I don't know of anything that has _steel_ claws."

Dean bit the inside of his cheek, staring at the pictures of the young girls.

"The attacks have stopped for a couple of nights now, and I'm worried whatever did this is already moving on to the next town. I've been tracking it for five towns now and if something doesn't change I'm going to lose this fucker again." John glared at the police photographs as if they were the ones to blame. "I can't let him slip through my fingers...but I'm beginning to fear that his type of girl has been hunted out of this town."

"What?" Dean frowned, turning to his father. "Type?"

"Look at them, they're all similar." John pointed towards the board. "They're only children, daughters of influential men in their communities, and from what I can tell, exemplary girls. There are honor students, and the ones who volunteered for charity events, or the captains of their high school sports or academic clubs." He pointed to a young redhead. "That was the last victim, thirteen, a musical prodigy who spent most of her free time volunteering at a senior center here. She was taken at night, just like everyone else, and her little sister said she saw a man jump out from the sky, grab her, and jump away taking the girl with him. As always the man was declared as having glowing red eyes."

Dean had the sudden urge to return back to his motel room and check out how Chloe was doing, but that urge annoyed him and he fought it, squaring his shoulders. "I need to talk to you."

"It can wait until we finish this case and get rid of this monster, whatever it is." John dismissed him and his desires, like always.

"No." Dean surprised them both with that one word. "I need to talk to you _now_."

"Boy." John frowned at him, turning towards him. "I told you we'd talk about whatever you want to talk about after this case is closed and that's when we're going to talk about it."

"And I told you that won't do." Dean clenched his fists. "I need to know _now_."

"Seems like these two months have made you forget who's in charge of this whole operation." John growled. "You show me more respect!"

"I respect you, sir." Dean assured him, yet didn't back down. "But I'm not going to fold on this one. I have questions, and by god you're going to fucking answer them!"

John looked like he didn't know how to handle this, narrowing his eyes. "What is _so_ important that you can't wait for this case to be closed? That you would risk this happening to some other girl?"

Dean steeled himself, almost afraid to ask-to get the answer. "Why would someone say that mom tainted herself for you?"

John went still, eyes widening and face paling. "_Who said that_?"

Taking in a deep breath, Dean cleared his throat. "A psychotic bitch about to kill Chloe said that she had to die because, like mom for you, Chloe had tainted herself for _me_. She insinuated that she knew who killed mom."

John collapsed on the seat, running his shaky hand over his head. "Did you sleep with that kid?"

"What? _No_!" Dean snapped, agitation filling his body. "She isn't even legal yet! That girl's a virgin! I didn't touch her!"

John raised an eyebrow at him before standing up. "What else did this bitch tell you?" His intensity was growing as the shock left his body. "She's the first real lead we've had. So _tell_ me she's alive and locked up somewhere so I can go and...ask her nicely."

Dean shook his head. "I killed her."

At first there was nothing, and then John snarled as he slammed his fist down on the table in fury. "How could you be so fucking stupid?!"

"She was going to kill Chloe." Dean replied calmly, narrowed eyes on his infuriated father. "I made the choice to save the girl."

"She could have given us so much information on your mother's death and her murderer! Don't you want to solve the mystery? Don't you fucking care anymore to avenge her?" John nearly screamed in his fury, clenching his fists.

"That's not the point!" Dean snarled right back at his father, surprising himself so very much as he slammed his fist sideways into the wall hard enough to make the board with his father's articles shake. "Whoever killed mom is after Chloe for the same reason they killed mom for! And what fucking matters is that it's _our fault_! I don't know why but mom was killed _because of you_!" He lowered his head. "And if I don't figure out what's going on and how to stop it, Chloe's going to be killed because of _me_." His body trembled with white fury as he raised his gaze to meet his father's. "So if you have any idea _how_ mother could have tainted herself for you, _tell me_."

John stared at him, all fury gone, instead shock and horror filling his face as he once more collapsed onto his seat. "No." He was shaking as he pressed his hands to his face. "I-I don't know what that means."

Dean closed his eyes in horrible disappointment as he leaned heavily against the wall, staring at the ceiling. "I need to find out. I need to protect her."

John remained seated, hunched over, hands covering his face. "Have you asked _her_?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?" John slid his hands free and frowned. "Any idiot would know that'd be the next course of action!"

Dean flinched, looking away. "When we were in Hope, and I was knocked out, a guy came in to finish the deal and kill me. She distracted him, and was nearly raped by the bastard because of it. The only reason she _wasn't_ was because the ghost of Hathaway entered her and killed him for nearly desecrating the only "untouched womb" in the damned place."

John frowned. "You think this is how she tainted herself for you? By 'distracting' this guy?"

"I don't know." Letting out a little breath, Dean pushed away from the wall, heading towards the door. "Either way I'm not about to ask the girl to relive that." He shook his head. "We're in room #6."

"You brought her _here_?"

Dean hesitated at the door, his back to his father as he snorted softly. "Like I would let her out of my sight for as long as it'd take to come here and get back."

And with that he opened the door, slid out, and closed it behind him.

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**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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This place was _weird_.

Chloe felt like she'd gone through a portal and landed back in time.

It was wiggy...but awesome.

Unzipping her duffel bag, Chloe grabbed the messenger bag inside of it with her computer and wallet. She went to the table between the two queen beds and found the complimentary notepad, writing down where she'd be as she headed to the door and unlocked it. Opening the door she turned the lock inside and closed it hard, grinning when it locked.

Shaking her head, pulling on the messenger bag's strap, Chloe raised her hoodie over her head due to the coolness of the evening as she made her way towards the diner she'd seen while driving up. The wind was cool against her bare legs and for a moment she contemplated changing into pants instead of the skirt she wore, but the blonde remembered she'd already locked herself out of the room, and who knew how long Dean would be with his father?

Decision made for her, Chloe continued on her way, hands in her hoodie's pockets before she reached into her bag and pulled out her ipod, slipping it into her pocket. She put it to play and plopped in the earphones, Karmin's "I Told You So" blaring in her ears and drowning out the sounds around her.

The teenager looked both ways before crossing the street, shucking her hands back into her hoodie's front pockets as she walked forwards, eyes on her boots. The blonde sang softly to the lyrics, trying to keep up with the rap parts and snorting in amusement when she made mistakes time and time again. It didn't stop her from repeating the song when it was over and trying it again, ever determined.

It was only when male boots appeared in her sight that Chloe stopped and looked up the body of the man that'd been just _standing _there in her way. He was handsome in a breathtakingly dark way, wearing jeans and a studded black leather jacket, his hair dark and chin length, straight.

Pulling out her earphones, Chloe stuffed them in her hoodie's front pocket, clearing her throat as she moved around him.

He moved with her.

She stopped, giving him a little look before going the other way.

He moved with her again.

By now she realized this guy was messing with her, and her eyes narrowed as she quickly looked around her to make sure that this wasn't an ambush of some kind and his buddies weren't creeping up around her. But there was no one but them on the sidewalk, and he was still watching her with a smirk on his lips.

"I feel the need to tell you that if you're planning on bothering me, that I have a _really_ fit, really _possessive_ boyfriend." She bluffed, raising her chin. "He'll kick your emo ass all the way down this sidewalk and onto oncoming traffic."

The man's lips twitched in amusement. "Sounds fun."

"I guess it could be fun in 'we can only do this once in a lifetime' sorta way." She shrugged, tightening her hold on her messenger bag's strap, refusing to let go in case this was a robbery in progress. "But to be honest it's not my cup of tea so...yeah..." she made to go passed him and he moved with her once more, blocking her path. "That's getting annoying."

"You know, little girls shouldn't be walking on their own on these streets once the sun sets." He announced casually.

"Well, if I see any little girls walking around I'll be sure to pass on that pearl of wisdom." She assured him, once more trying to move passed him and once more being blocked. "Oh _come on_! I've got places to go to!"

He reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her towards him and almost off her feet as he leaned down, hissing into her ear. "Get off of the streets. You're his type."

"_What_?" She struggled against his hold. "Don't touch me! Let go!"

"You're not _listening_." His grip got harder, scolding, as he gave her a little violent shake until she calmed down. "You're his type."

"_Whose_ type?" She turned her head towards him, uncomfortable with how close their faces were, but realizing he was too strong and didn't mind manhandling her in public. "Is there someone _other_ than you who targets girls on the streets and _shakes them_ while delivering unhelpfully vague warnings?"

His smile was a hint of amusement mixed with threat. "Leave here before he sees you. Go somewhere crowded and don't leave there alone. Don't _be_ alone."

She pursed her lips, frowning at him. "Who _are_ you?"

The man let go of her, hands held up in front of him as he began backing away. "Just someone traveling through."

"You know a lot for someone just traveling through!" She called after him as he turned around and began walking away, hands in his pockets. The blonde watched him until he disappeared from sight, frown increasing as she tilted her head to the side.

Just who the hell had that been?

And why had he warned her?

_Whose_ type was she?

Suddenly a hand came down on her shoulder.

Screaming, Chloe turned and aimed a kick at the crotch, just like Dean had taught her.

With reflexes as quick as lightning, a hand grabbed her ankle and stopped the progression of her foot before it could make contact with the man's family jewels.

"Not fast enough." Dean held onto her ankle, raising an eyebrow at her in displeasure. "I should be on the ground crying for my mother right about now."

Keeping balance, Chloe didn't even try freeing the leg he held as she frowned at him. "Shouldn't you be grateful you're _not_ on the ground?"

"If I'd been someone else _he_ wouldn't be on the ground...so _no_...I'm _not_ grateful." He finally let go of her leg, folding his arms over his chest as he shook his head at her. "You shouldn't have left the motel." He looked around him warily. "It isn't safe on the streets at night."

"I didn't know you were going to finish talking with your dad that quickly." She mumbled, shaking her leg. "And what is it with guys telling me that tonight?"

Dean's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Just a couple of minutes ago this guy grabbed me and told me that I shouldn't be on the streets at night. It was creepy."

"What guy?"

"He's gone now." Chloe pointed in the direction he'd disappeared to nonetheless before turning to Dean. "How's your dad?"

"On a case." Dean shrugged, shucking his hands in his brown leather jacket's pockets as he began walking towards the diner. "Apparently there's some sort of creature that's kidnapping, attacking, and killing girls around here."

Chloe stumbled, wondering if that was what the guy had been talking about. "Does he have any idea what it is?"

"No." Dean shook his head, beginning to describe the creature and the victims to her as they made their way to the diner, the sidewalk surprisingly very abandoned despite the vehicle traffic.

Then again, given the fact that girls had been disappearing like crazy in this town it made sense that people weren't walking about carefree anymore.

"So you're saying it's like an American version of Spring-Heeled Jack?" Chloe asked as they neared the diner.

"What?" Dean turned towards her, eyes narrowed.

"You know, Spring-Heeled Jack. That British guy/thing." Chloe made a face. "Our history teacher made us do a piece on unexplained phenomena that happened in the past and made it into the newspaper. He gave me Spring-Heel Jack, and that guy was _interesting_ to say the least. Everything you're telling me about this creature sounds like him, down to the green fire coming out of his mouth-though Spring-Heel Jack was also known to somehow send his victims into fits. Some of them never recovered from them either, becoming a 'burden' to their families as one real asshole-ly guy wrote in one of the newspaper articles I collected." She shrugged. "So maybe this is whatever Spring-Heel Jack was."

Dean just stared at her before shaking his head and grinning, opening the door and entering the busy diner.

"_What_?" Chloe asked as she hurried in after him, pulling a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she did so.

"Just thinking that you're still more like Sammy than me." Dean shrugged, finding them a table and sitting down.

"More like Sam?" The blonde sat opposite him. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." He shook his head with a chuckle, though it disappeared when his phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out to see the caller I.D. "Yeah dad?"

Noticing movement coming towards them, Chloe smiled at the waitress bringing them menus. "Thanks."

The waitress returned a small smile and walked away, hugging herself.

Narrowing her eyes at the woman, Chloe shrugged as she slid Dean's menu towards him and opened up her own, gazing at the options. They all seemed yummy and artery-clogging, which made her grin as she wondered what greasy meal she'd enjoy tonight.

The bell above the door tinkled as someone entered.

Everyone looked up, worry on every face.

"At the diner down the street, we're going to get something to eat." Dean mumbled into the phone, staring at the options on the menu. "Yeah, that one."

The bell above the door tinkled again as someone else entered.

Once again the people looked up immediately.

Frowning, Chloe put down her menu in time to catch the looks of fear on everyone's faces turn to relief. Apparently the whole town was terrorized with what was going on, and every time someone walked passed the plate glass front of the diner they jumped in nerves.

"See you then." Dean hung up, placing his phone in his pocket as he looked up from the menu. "Everyone's shaky, huh?"

She turned back to look at him in shock. "You never looked up from your menu so how-?"

"I've been doing this for a _long_ time; you learn how to see without looking." He shrugged, hazel gaze venturing over the diner's patrons. "The fact that they're so scared isn't good. It will give whatever is behind this the courage to continue if it hasn't already moved on."

"How many girls have been taken from this town?" Chloe asked softly, pulling the elastic out of her hair and redoing her lax ponytail.

"A couple." Dean frowned, gaze returning to her. "We're leaving tomorrow. First thing." He hesitated before adding: "I'm thinking about stopping at a friend of the family's on the way. Bobby Singer. I, uh, have some things I need to talk with him about."

She blinked in surprise. "You talked to your dad about everything that quickly?"

He slid his gaze away from her. "We had our talk. No other reason to stick around."

"What about the hunt?" Chloe pointed out, surprised that he was going to leave his father when he was tracking this creature. "Aren't we going to stay and help him?"

Dean sneered darkly at that as his eyes rested on her. "You've got to be joking. There's no way in _hell_ I'm letting you stay in this town longer than I have to. Not with your luck."

"My _luck_?" Chloe bristled.

"Yes. _Your_ _luck_." Dean replied, face severe. "Knowing it, you're this thing's type."

Chloe went still, her eyes widening. "That's what that guy said."

"The same guy who grabbed you in the street?" Dean's eyes narrowed further. "He told you you were his type?" The hunter shook his head in derision. "What sort of pervert-?"

"Not _his_ type." Chloe made a face at Dean. "He told me to get off of the streets before someone else he called "he" saw me because I was this other dude's type." She frowned. "And then he told me to get to a crowded place and not to leave alone-or be alone." Chloe took in a deep breath. "I told you, it was kinda creepy."

Dean was still before standing up. "That's it, we're leaving _now_."

"_Dean_!" Chloe reached over and tugged on his sleeve, a little embarrassed by the attention he was receiving from the patrons. "Sit _down_! I'm hungry!"

The bell over the door tinkled once more as John Winchester entered the establishment, gaze searching those there before zeroing in on them and heading in their direction. "What's with attracting attention to yourself like this?"

A muscle jumped in Dean's cheek. "Chloe and I are leaving."

"The diner?" John frowned.

"Town." Dean replied in an oddly controlled tone. "Some douche threatened her outside that she was this thing's _type_."

"It was more like a warning than a threat, really." Chloe was still grabbing hold of Dean's sleeve.

John turned to look at her for the first time and for a second he just stared at her.

Chloe blinked under the intense scrutiny, pulling a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Uh, hi John."

Dean narrowed his eyes on his father.

"Dean." John didn't look away from Chloe. "Sit down. You're causing a scene."

Frustration flashed over Dean's eyes but he obeyed nonetheless.

John sat next to him, opposite Chloe. "How are you doing?"

She smiled at him, remembering Lois' advice to flirt her way out of any uncomfortable or odd circumstance. "Much better now, thank you. It's good to see you."

He just stared at her before nodding. "You too."

The waitress arrived. "Whadya like to order?"

"The usual for me." John announced without looking from Chloe.

It was beginning to unnerve the blonde a little yet she just smiled at him before giving the waitress her order.

Dean grumbled his.

The woman left to get them what they wanted.

"I take it that my son has filled you in on what's been happening in this town?" John was direct and to the point. "About the girls and what's happening to them?"

Chloe nodded, getting a little more comfortable now. "Have you considered the Spring-Heel Jack legends? It's almost the same exact thing Spring-Heel Jack was supposed to be able to induce fits in his victims." She sat as straight as she could, feeling very much like she should be at attention or something military-ish like that. "It could be nothing other than a coincidence, but if you like I investigated him _extensively_ for a school report and I have all the information on my computer at school. All I'd have to do is remotely access it and transfers the files to your computer."

John paused, tilting his head to the side. "You're good with computers?"

"You can say I'm better with them than people." Chloe grinned, much more comfortable now that they were getting to her expertise.

"My son, Samuel, used to be the one to use the computer for us, but he hightailed it and went to live the civilian life." John declared, leaning forwards on the table. "Ever since he's left it's been harder to get the information I need for the cases."

"Do you need some sort of information that you're not able to get? Electronically?" Chloe asked curiously.

John observed her before nodding. "I have a feeling that the District Attorney is keeping something important on his computer."

"So you need hacking." Chloe clarified slowly. "This is your way of asking if I can hack."

"Dad-." Dean started.

"Not now Dean." John interrupted, never removing his gaze from Chloe. "What if it was?"

The blonde took in a deep breath as she cleared his throat. "I could give it a try."

Dean leaned hard against his seat, looking away, displeasure on his every feature.

"When we finish here I want you in my room." John near ordered.

Chloe gulped, nodding slowly.

"Look, dad-." Dean started again.

"Not _now _Dean." John growled.

Uncomfortable, uneasy, Chloe cleared her throat as she stood, head lowered. "I, uh, I need to use the bathroom."

She knew she was running away from conflict (as Dr. Masters called it) but didn't care, rushing towards the hallway to the side with the sign that said BATHROOM. She hugged herself as she walked down the dimly lit corridor, passing the men's room before finally finding the women's, hurrying inside. The blonde took in a deep breath, wondering if John was always this _intense_. It made her nervous, and horribly intimidated.

Scratching her arm as it started to itch, Chloe fought with the symptoms of her nerves as she went to one of the stalls, closing the door behind her as she lowered her panties and crouched over the rim, peeing standing up, not trusting any germs that might be on the rim.

Wiping clean she pulled back up her underwear and unlocked the door, nearly jumping when she found a woman there.

She hadn't heard her come in.

Sending the woman a wobbly smile, Chloe went to the sinks and turned on the water, making a face when she realized there was no soap.

"_Maddie_..." The woman whispered to her.

Chloe paused in mid-wash as she turned towards the woman. "Excuse me?"

"It's _me_ Maddie." The woman gazed at her with tears in her eyes. "Don't you recognize me?"

"I'm sorry...but you've got me mixed up with someone else." Chloe turned off the faucet and grabbed some paper, wiping her hands as she gave the woman an awkward little smile. "My name's not Maddie."

She turned to leave, when the woman moved with her, blocking her path.

"_Maddie_, it's _me_." The woman begged her, voice breaking, tears flowing. "You _have_ to _recognize_ me! It's _me_."

"Ma'am..." Chloe could feel panic begin to claw at her throat as this obviously unhinged woman blocked her exit. "I'm sorry but I'm not this Maddie person. My name's _Chloe_ and I've never seen you before."

"Don't _say_ that!" The woman screamed at her, tears free-falling now, shoulder shaking with her sobs. "Why are you doing this to me? Why are you punishing me?"

"I'm not punishing you!" That panic continued to grow, and the place seemed to be closing in on Chloe as she tried to breathe, tried to stay the panic attack she was on the threshold of. "I'm not! I swear! But I don't know you and my name is _not_ Maddie!"

"I'm _sorry_!" The woman screamed that at her. "I'm _so sorry_!"

When she made to step towards Chloe it was instinct that drove the blonde backwards into the wall.

The woman looked like she'd been slapped. "_Why do you hate me so much?_"

"I don't hate you." Chloe whispered as she clutched at the wall behind her, shivering.

Relief flooded the woman's face as she drew closer and pulled Chloe into her hold, gripping her tightly as she cried.

Chloe held still in the embrace, trembling, feeling trapped and scared and nauseas. She wanted to scream and claw her way to freedom, wanted to push away and breathe. The walls of the bathroom seemed to be closing in on her and she felt dizzy, breathless.

Suddenly the door to the bathroom opened, and the waitress froze at the scene, though one look at Chloe's terrified face brought her forwards as she went towards the woman. "Hannah? Hannah, darling? What's going on here?"

"Krista!" This woman, Hannah, let go of Chloe enough so that she was only grabbing her arm. "It's Maddie! Maddie's back!"

Sadness filled the waitress' eyes. "Oh honey, that's not Maddie."

The smile disappeared from the woman's face. "Yes she is. Why are you lying to me?"

"Honey, I'm not lying." The waitress came closer, carefully. "This girl is just passing through town. She's not Maddie."

"But she _is_." The woman clutched Chloe's arm so tightly she was cutting off the circulation. "This is Maddie!"

"I'm not Maddie." Chloe yanked her arm away, stumbling into one of the stalls in her haste to get as far away from this woman as possible. "And I don't know you!"

"_Why_?" Hannah cried brokenheartedly. "Why do you keep hurting me like this?" And with that she raced away, crying loudly.

Chloe looked in the direction the woman had gone before sliding down the wall in shock, gripping the arm Hannah had held so tightly, it was throbbing softly.

"Are you okay?" Krista came towards her, kneeling down. "You shouldn't be on this floor. It's _far_ from sanitary."

Chloe hugged herself tightly, flinching away from Krista's hand, causing the waitress to pull it away before she could touch her.

Krista sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Hannah's usually not like that. She hasn't been right in the head for a very long time, but she's _never_ attacked anyone like this before."

"He's right." Chloe whispered, staring ahead of her. "I have _horrible_ luck."

"How about I take you back to where your boyfriend's waiting on you?"

"Not my boyfriend." She whispered before finally shaking herself out of the daze and pushing herself up. "I—I'm fine, thank you." The blonde went to the sink and washed her hands once more with scalding water.

Krista sighed as she leaned against the wall.

"Who...who was Maddie?" Chloe finally asked, turning off the faucet and wiping her hands dry.

"A sad memory." Krista replied before motioning towards the door. "Come on, I think you deserve a free shake after this."

Hugging herself, Chloe gave the woman a small smile before following her out of the bathroom.

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**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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Something had happened.

The girl had been far too quiet and subdued during dinner; only speaking when spoken to, gaze on the food she hardly touched despite having assured him before how hungry she was. For a while Dean wondered if it was because she could sense the tension between his father and him, but he noticed her rubbing her arm a couple of times almost as if it hurt her, and it was all he could do to keep himself from ordering her to spit out what'd happened while she'd gone to the bathroom.

The feeling persisted as they found themselves in his father's room, the girl tapping furiously into her keyboard, only stopping to rub her arm occasionally.

John leaned over Chloe's shoulder, seeming not to notice the way she pulled closer to the computer and further away from him in an obvious effort to keep their bodies from touching.

Dean leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest and chewing on the inside of his cheek as he watched them.

A part of him wanted to tell his father to just back off and let her do what she was doing, but he knew that calling attention to the situation would only make the girl more uncomfortable, so he bit his tongue and kept from talking. It itched him to do so though, and he found himself unable to stay in one position for long. He felt fidgety and hated it.

"There." Chloe finally announced, slipping out from between John and the computer fluidly, rapidly, hugging herself as she gave him a little smile. "The DA's computer with unrestricted access to every file within; check to your heart's desire. They're going to know that someone hacked in, but I've programmed the trace to bounce off of so many different connection ports and cell towers and such that they won't be able to trace it back to us."

"Impressive." John patted her back hard enough to have her stumble forwards slightly as he took the seat she'd vacated, already consumed in going through the files she'd pulled up.

Chloe made her way towards Dean, eyeing his father as she leaned and whispered: "I think he's forgiven me a little for taking you away from him."

Dean didn't answer, instead reaching for the zipper of her hoodie and lowering it brusquely enough to pull the sleeve off of her arm and bare the bruises forming. "What happened?"

"Don't just take my clothes off." She slapped his hand away, unable to look him in the eye as she zipped back up to her throat. "It was nothing, some crazy woman just got a little handsy in the bathroom. I-I think I look like someone she knew who died or something like that."

Dean groaned, leaning harder against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. "You can't even go to the **bathroom** without something happening."

She glared at him. "This isn't my fault."

"Not saying it is. But I think you're cursed." He mumbled darkly to himself. "There's no way someone can have such _bad_ luck naturally."

She obviously wanted to snap at him but realized he was right, pouting as she leaned against the wall next to him.

Feeling his phone ringing, Dean pulled it out of his pocket and frowned when he saw Sam's number on the caller I.D. He sent his father a look, knowing that it would be World War III if he found out it was Sam, so the young hunter sent Chloe a look telling her he'd be out for a bit and slipped out of the door, flipping open his phone and bringing it to his ear as he closed the door behind him.

"Sammy! What's up?" He zipped up his brown leather jacket against the cold of the night as he stepped out onto the dimly lit parking lot.

"Uh, I wanted to talk to you...is Chloe anywhere near?"

Blinking, a little confused at the question, Dean shook his head. "Nope."

"Good." Sammy cleared his throat. "Look Dean, I want you to know that I understand, okay? She seems very mature for her age and everything, and she's pretty and smart and funny. She's also very caring and has a way of making people who actually give her a chance, give a damn."

So far all Sam was doing was stating the obvious.

Dean waited for him to get on with it already.

"But she's young and vulnerable right now and..."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Just spit out whatever you're going to say and stop beating around the bushes."

"Fine." Sam cleared his throat again. "I knew you were close, but the other night on skype I realized that you guys are _really_ close. I mean, **_really_** close. I was going to wait until you came for a visit to talk to you about it but I can't study and I figured it would be better to just talk to you and get it over with."

"You're still beating around the fucking bush." Dean felt some annoyance filling him by now.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Sam blew him the fuck away by asking him that straight out. "Because I don't approve if you are."

Dean stared ahead of him in shock. "Are you on drugs?"

"Excuse me?" Sam sounded like he had his bitch face on right this instance.

"Jesus, what _is_ it with you and dad having these goddamn perverted ideas about us?" Dean was annoyed, hell, he was _pissed_! "I know that I've had a history of being unable to keep it in my pants-but she's a fucking _minor_, man! Give me some credit!"

Sam stammered. "I-I don't think you're a pervert or anything Dean. And I don't want you to think that I just automatically assume the worse of you-."

"Really?" Dean snapped. "Because it sure as hell _sounds_ that way!"

Sam groaned, sounding like he was palming his face. "Maybe I-_overreacted_-but you have to understand why I'd assume this!"

"No actually." Dean ground his teeth. "I _don't_ see why you'd think something like that at all."

"Really? Dean?" Sam's annoyance was returning. "Do you even _know_ how you two looked on skype? She was lying on top of you!"

"She was not!" Dean snapped.

"She _was_!" Sam snapped back. "This is the girl who has a phobia of being touched, but she was _all over_ you! And you _hate_ women being clingy with you, you turn into a _real_ asshole when they try to even _hug_ you, but you not only _let_ her basically _drape_ herself all over you-you had your arm around her keeping her anchored to you!"

Dean's mouth opened in shock. "That's not true."

"Which part?" Sam asked testily.

"All of it!" Dean growled, beginning to pace, his whole body tensed, his muscles taunt. "And I don't think _you_ of all people should be schooling me on how to act around her given the fact that _you_ are the _only one_ out us the both of us who's been sexual with her!"

There was silence.

"She told you about that?"

Dean looked up at the stars. "Yeah."

"I was possessed." Sam whispered. "It wasn't _me_."

"You were you enough to push him out of you Sammy." Dean reminded.

Another pause.

"I really don't feel like that towards her." Sam finally spoke. "But she saved my life. I-I feel _protective_ towards her."

"So do I." Dean replied, running his hand over his face, hella uncomfortable with how this had suddenly become a "feelings" conversation. "And honestly, my friendship with her is none of your goddamn business."

"Friendship." Sam mulled over that word.

"Yeah, I'm allowed to have one you know." He surprised himself at how resentful that sounded.

"Of course you do, Dean." Sam sounded just as surprised. "I just-you know what? I was completely out of line."

Dean cleared his throat. "Yeah, you were."

"I'm sorry."

"You _should_ be." Dean mumbled.

"Just take my apology gracefully." Sam somehow conveyed with his voice that he was rolling his eyes, like a bitch.

Dean's lips twitched with amusement as he allowed himself to grin at the thought.

"So, how are things?" Sam cleared his throat, obviously desperate to change the subject. "What's Chloe up to tonight?"

Dean sent a look towards the room. "Hacking the DA's office."

There was silence, and then: "_What_?"

"Look, I don't wanna talk about this on the phone, I'll tell you when we come to your place okay?"

"_Dean_-!"

The door opened and Dean hung up the call, raising an eyebrow at Chloe as the girl slipped out of the room silently. "What's up shortstuff?"

"Your dad wants something to drink, coffee preferably. Black. No sugar or cream." The blonde rolled her eyes, pulling up the hoodie over her head. "Says there's a coffee machine in the reception area of the manager's office; complimentary coffee or something like that? I don't know." She shrugged, her breath coming out in visible huffs. "You want something? It looks like it's going to be a long night."

That annoyance grew inside of Dean but he pushed it back. "I'll tag along."

"I can walk to that building over there by myself." She smirked at him with obvious amusement.

He shucked his hands (and his phone) into his jacket's pockets as he began the trek towards the reception area.

Chloe hurriedly caught up with him, her shorter legs making it harder for her to keep at his pace but she didn't complain. "Your dad gets really consumed by his hunts, huh?"

"Yeah, the hunt's his life."

She sighed, hugging herself. "He must have really loved her."

Dean sent her a sideways glance. "What?"

"Your mother." She replied, sending him a sideways glance. "Sam told me everything-about your dad's motivation for his hunts. For him to be this dedicated so long after her death it must mean that he really loved her."

Dean cleared his throat and looked away.

Chloe sighed as she stared in front of her.

The hunter sent her a sideways glance. "What's with the sighing?"

"A girl can't sigh?" She countered.

He smirked. "She can...but when she does it's usually for a reason."

"Who made you the authority on women and their actions?" She pouted.

He chuckled. "My vast experience."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him. "Right."

"So what's up?" Dean wanted to know, stopping and turning towards her.

She stopped as well, tilting her head to the side. "I'm just tired. After we get the coffee for John I think I'll go to our room and have a nice long sleep."

He wanted to tell her that they were leaving tonight, but he could see the tiredness on her face and decided that one night couldn't hurt. "Sure. Just make sure the doors and windows are locked."

The blonde smirked at him. "Yes Boss."

Dean smiled at that, shaking his head as they continued towards the promise of free coffee.

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Slipping into the room Dean had unlocked for her, Chloe locked it behind her as promised, hearing his footsteps disappearing down the walkway towards his father's room. The blonde turned and leaned against the door, a small smile on her face before shaking her head and hurrying towards her bed and throwing herself on it. The mattress wasn't the most comfortable she'd ever been on, but it wasn't the worse either, and she was so tired she'd easily conk out without any trouble.

A part of her mumbled something about bathing, but the blonde was way too lazy for that, instead kicking off her boots and easing her skirt down her hips and legs, dropping the material on the ground by the side of the bed. She unzipped her hoodie, throwing that as well, not needing it in the warm room as she unhooked her bra and stuffed that into her bag before crawling in under the sheets. They were soft and smelt nice, although the patterns were very faded and had been obviously used for a _very_ long time in the motel.

Turning off the lights, Chloe closed her eyes and got comfortable as she yawned, snuggling under the blankets.

Suddenly there were loud, rapid, desperate knocks against the door.

"Help me!" A woman cried in terror. "Please! Help me! He's after me!"

Eyes flying open, Chloe slipped out of the bed and hurried towards the door, wishing that there was some sort of peephole. "Hello?" She said through the door.

"Please!" The woman begged. "Please! Don't let him get me!"

Chloe turned her gaze towards her bag, where her phone was. Her instinct told her to call Dean, but there was an inhuman shriek outside and the woman cried out loudly.

Quickly unlocking the door, Chloe yanked it open and frowned when she found no one there. "Hello?"

Horror filled her. Had Spring-Heel gotten to the woman? Had the blonde's indecision just damned some other girl to the same fate as the girls before her?

Stepping outside into the cold night, Chloe hugged herself against the cold as she looked around. "_Hello_?"

Hearing a sound to her right, the blonde turned and didn't even get to scream before everything went black.

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"There is no such thing as a shared dream...unless there's African Dream Root involved." John Winchester declared, having been torn away from the DA's files due to his son's incessant demand for attention. He honestly didn't know how to react to this change in Dean, but he knew he didn't like it. The boy was becoming rebellious and disrespectful like Sammy had been, and just look at how horribly _that_ had turned out. "_Was_ there African Dream Root involved? Because if so it's not something that should be played with."

"There wasn't any African Dream Root involved." A muscle jumped in Dean's cheek as he folded his arms over his chest. "But it was the same dream, if not a very similar one with the same context. She died in it just like mom did. That can't be a coincidence-not with everything else. There's a connection between her and mom."

John leaned hard on his seat as he stared up at his eldest. "There can't possibly be any connection between them."

"Why not?" Dean countered.

John just didn't like it, not used to being questioned by his eldest.

"Because I didn't _taint_ your mother, and from what you've told me, you haven't tainted that kid either." It was as simple as that.

Mary's face flashed before John's face, pleading with him as she reached down towards him from the ceiling as the fire consumed her.

Rubbing his hand over his eyes, John cleared his throat.

That kid looked too damn much like his Mary had...it was fucking with his head.

"Margaret didn't say we tainted them, she said they tainted themselves _because_ of us."

"Isn't that the same thing?" John snapped, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"_No_. It's_ not_." Dean was sticking to his guns, eyes narrowed. "Look, if you don't want to help then _fine_. But I'm going to figure out what the hell is going on and I'm going to protect her."

John shook his head as he stood, going towards the window, staring outside at the darkness.

"Sir..._dad_." Dean cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "If you know anything, no matter how unimportant you might think it is, I'm asking you to please tell me."

"The only thing I know..." John turned to face his son with a frown. "Is that the girl is going to catch her death in this cold if she keeps walking around outside barefooted while in her _underwear_."

"What?" Dean was by his side, staring out of the window before pushing away and was out the door in seconds.

John didn't move, returning his gaze to the window, watching as the boy raced to where the girl was walking aimlessly, seeming somewhat disoriented.

Dean grabbed her arm, yanking her arm, yelling at her.

Chloe seemed confused, disoriented, and then she just smiled up at Dean and nodded, turning and walking back to their room.

Dean let her slip out of his hold, watching her in worry and confusion, before mumbling darkly to himself as he followed closely behind, grabbing the blonde and lifting her off of her terribly dirty feet as he threw her over his shoulder and stormed them the rest of the way to their room...kicking the open door closed behind them.

John sighed as he finally looked away from outside, turning his back on the window.

Too damn much like Mary.

Too damn much.

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She snored loudly.

Sitting on his bed, hunched over, Dean frowned as he watched the girl who only moments before had been sleepwalking all around the parking lot. At first he hadn't understood what was going on, had suspected that maybe she'd had a _lot_ to drink, but then he'd seen how glazed over and unfocused her eyes were despite no scent of alcohol at all...and realized that even though her eyes were open the girl was sleeping.

She'd smiled up at him, mumbled something he really couldn't make out, and then started back towards the room.

And now here he was, sitting on his bed watching her, frowning darkly.

This was the first time she'd ever sleepwalked, and it worried him. What if he was sleeping and the girl just sleepwalked out of the room and went to only god knew where? She'd even unlocked the door in her sleep!

This was fucking unbelievable!

Running his hand over his hair, feeling so horribly out of depth, Dean closed his eyes with a sigh.

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**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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Stretching, Chloe smiled as she awoke, the sunlight bright on her face. The blonde groaned as she lazed around in bed, feeling horribly tired as if she hadn't slept a wink last night although she knew that it'd been the best sleep she'd had in a long time.

Shaking her head, the girl slipped out of the bed and hurried towards the bathroom, winking at her reflection in the mirror before going to start the shower. The water was cold enough to warm her up and as she lathered her body the blonde hummed to herself, bobbing her head as she began to sing loudly. For some reason she was in a great mood and couldn't keep still or stop grinning.

Turning off the shower and slipping out of the bathroom, Chloe wrapped the towel around her body as she went to the closet, opening it as she gazed at her clothes, wondering what to wear. She grabbed a yellow dress and went to the standing mirror, bringing it to her body as she gazed at her reflection.

Behind her, something flashed dark and foreboding, black mass and red eyes...but before she could look up from her own reflection it was gone.

Smiling, deciding that this would be what she'd wear today, Chloe let her towel fall to her feet as she slipped into the dress. It fit snugly around her body, accentuating her curves while its neckline dipped low, giving a hint of her breasts.

The window rattled before two hands pushed the glass upwards, opening it, a long body slowly pulling itself into her room.

Gaze following the movement in the reflection of her mirror, Chloe turned as the thing stood towering over her.

The figure took a step towards her.

Another.

The smile melted from Chloe's face as horror filled her. "You shouldn't be here."

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"What do you _mean_ you don't know what's wrong?" Dean snapped at the doctor, barely keeping himself in check. "You're a doctor! It's what you're here for!"

"Dean, calm down." John leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest. "Let the doctor finish what he's saying."

The doctor, far too old to be so incompetent, cleared his throat, seeming to instinctively know he was in danger. "A-a-as I s-s-said, we've run all sorts of tests on her and nothing is wrong. She's healthy...although there's a curious substance covering her heart area that's solidified into some sort of _shield_." He seemed to think that over before shaking his head and continuing. "Despite that, we could find no plausible reason for these...seizures."

Dean's light hazel gaze went to where the girl was strapped in the hospital bed, had been there since last night, thankfully still for the moment. He'd known something was wrong, the whole sleepwalking seemed to have been some sort of foreboding omen, and yet he hadn't been prepared to emerge from the bathroom minutes after bringing her back to the room to find her having a violent seizure on the bed. They'd rushed her to the hospital and she'd been seizing over and over again at various intervals.

"What-what's interesting is that when we performed our various brains scans we found that the activity in her limbic system is off the charts."

"Limbic system?" Dean made a face.

"It's a primitive part of the brain that controls not only our dreams, but our emotions. It also orchestrates our instincts, sexual behaviors, drives, and flight-or-flight response." The doctor explained, holding his chart to his chest.

"What does that mean, exactly?" John raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I can't say for _sure_," the doctor hesitated. "But it would seem like she's having one _hell_ of a dream."

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"She failed." Uriel grumbled, quite displeased with how things were progressing.

"She hasn't failed." Azazel sipped on his milkshake, quite at ease as they watched the youth saunter around.

"Has Luthor contacted you?" Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"Nope." Azazel didn't seem too bothered by that though, taking another long sip of his milkshake. "This is _delicious_. You really should try one next time you're in town."

A muscle ticked in Uriel's eyebrow as the angel shook his head and looked away, taking a long gulp of his beer. "The Asset-."

"Must first taint herself through a deal with the son of the devil, and then she must lead another on the crossroads of eternity down to perdition." Azazel repeated what he knew by heart, rolling his eyes at the uptight angel. "I chose Luthor because he hates his father as much as he wants his respect. He _will_ summon me...and fulfill the next requirement."

"You better be right." Uriel finished his beer with a grumble.

"I _am_." Azazel suddenly paused, tilting his head to the right, before smirking. "What did I tell you?" Chuckling, he stood, pushing the rest of his shake towards the irate angel. "Have some."

And with that the demon disappeared towards the RV on the Luthor land.

Uriel glared at the spot the demon had been, before reaching for the half-finished shake and grudgingly taking a sip of it. He paused, eyes widening.

"It's not horrible."

Not that he'd ever tell the demon that.

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"Why do you have African Dream Root in your bag?" Dean narrowed his eyes at his father as the man placed the root into a teacup, filling it with hot water from his thermos, adding other ingredients.

"Because the other victims were in this sort of state right before they died." John replied, back to the closed door. "I'm figuring this is the "fits" that Chloe mentioned."

"Wait, you _knew_ about this?" Dean snapped.

"The creature must have gotten to Chloe while she was outside sleepwalking." John stirred the mixture, letting it seep. "What I don't understand is why it didn't abduct and rape her like the other victims. It should have." He sniffed the tea. "Makes me wonder if they were put in this dream-state to facilitate it somehow and not _because_ of what it did to them."

"You think the creature's attacking them while they're in this state?" Dean went still.

"I can't be too certain, but I'm arriving at that hypothesis." John nodded, going towards the girl and yanking out a strand of her hair, dropping it into his cup. "All I know for certain is that the only way I'll find out is to see what's going on in there and get her to wake up."

"Wait, you're going to _dreamwalk_?" Dean narrowed his eyes.

"Yes." John brought the cup to his mouth.

"No offence sir, but I think I should be the one to do so." Dean replied, standing tall.

"This is _my_ hunt, boy." John narrowed his eyes.

"Not to be disrespectful, _sir_, but you're more interested in the outcome of your hunt than in her well-being." Dean steeled himself. "You also need to be awake in case this doesn't end up related to the hunt, instead one of her weird episodes."

John reacted to that, taking in a deep breath. "It's her dream, she needs to realize that. If this thing is attacking her, she ultimately has the power if she can just_ realize_ it."

Dean nodded, taking the cup from his father's hand, drinking it all before the man could change his mind, going to sit down on the chair next to the hospital bed. He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the sinking, sleepy feeling of the African Dream Root taking effect, but after a couple of minutes of nothing he groaned.

"It's not working." Opening his eyes, Dean froze, finding himself not in the hospital anymore, instead in the middle of Smallville High, the Torch office to be specific.

A younger Chloe laughed happily, wearing a spaghetti shirt that dipped low to her breasts, revealing her unblemished chest, no scars in sight. She sat on the desk, dangling her legs as she chatted with a guy who was fixing the computers.

Dean hesitated where he sat by a computer on another desk.

He'd never seen her smile like that, so openly, so carefree.

"Well, I'm done." The boy declared, finally standing up. "If it gives you any more trouble just let me know, okay?"

"Thanks again Van." Chloe stood as well. "I know you have plans tonight so I really appreciate you doing this."

"Don't sweat it Chloe." Van smiled before heading out. "Now don't stay here too late, okay? It's not safe. This _is _Smallville."

"Sure." She nodded, pushing off of the desk. "I just need to finish something quickly then I'll be off."

"Okay." Van saluted before walking out.

Chloe smiled at his retreating figure before going to the computer, typing something into it.

Dean cleared his throat. "Uh, Chloe?"

She didn't react to the sound, finishing whatever she was doing, the printer starting to work. "Good."

"Chloe." Dean tried again, coming towards her, placing his hand on her shoulder-his hand going right through her.

Great!

The mixture mustn't have been strong enough because he was definitely in her dreams, but wasn't here enough to actually let her know he was there!

Chloe looked up, frowning. "Hello?

Dean looked up, hopeful she'd heard him.

She walked passed him towards the door. "Hello?"

Dean frowned, following her out, and then pausing when as he passed the threshold he realized they were now in the Sullivan house and not at the school anymore. It was the same day though, probably after Chloe had left school, because she was wearing the same clothes.

"Daddy?" Chloe called, slowly made her way towards the living room. "Is that you?"

Dean followed her, stepping inside in time to walk through her as she paused, staring at someone in shock.

A woman stood there. One could tell she'd been beautiful once upon a time ago with her pale skin, dark hair and pale blue eyes.

"_Mom_?" Chloe whispered, voice breaking.

Dean froze in horror, going sick as he suddenly realized what Chloe was dreaming of. "_No_."

The woman didn't seem able to see him either, staring at her daughter. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Chloe?"

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked softly, staring up at her.

"I'm doing something I should have done a long time ago." Moira Sullivan responded, eyeing the girl oddly. "I'd hoped-but you're his daughter. The devil is in your veins, and I need to bleed you dry to save you."

"_What_?" Chloe's voice broke as she began to tremble. "What are you talking about?"

"Your father's the devil, honey. And he has so much planned for you...plans I can't let happen." She took a step towards her. "Once you become a woman, it'll be too late, and you're almost one already. I have to stop you before you do his bidding."

"Mom-." Chloe whimpered, taking a step backwards.

Moira took a step towards her. "Don't fight the will of the Lord."

Dean moved between them. "Don't you fucking get any closer to her you psycho bitch!"

Moira pulled the hand she'd been keeping behind her out, the large knife glistening in the light.

Chloe's eyes widened before she screamed and took off, hurrying towards the stairs.

Moira dashed after her, through Dean, grabbing the girl on the stairs by her hair and yanking her back viciously, causing her daughter to trip and tumble down the rest of the stairs. And as soon as the girl hit the ground Moira was over her, using her disorientation against her as she straddled her hips, raising the knife high over her head and bringing it down hard on the girl's chest. The blade slid in to the hilt, the psychopath ignoring her child's screams as she slowly dragged the blade downwards through the skin, slicing it deeply.

"Why do you resist the Lord's salvation?" She screamed.

Chloe was struggling, begging, screaming and crying.

"You truly are the devil's child, you spawn of Lucifer and hell!" Moira yanked out the bloodied knife before twisting the angle and bringing back down to the hilt, carving up the rest of the upside cross in her daughter's chest. "The mark of Cain is upon you!" She pressed down all her weight on the blade. "May this blade pierce your heart and stop the evil which you will bring!"

Dean was desperate. No matter how many times he tried to pull or push or kick the woman off he couldn't do anything, useless to stop the attack. All he could do was watch as Chloe begged and pleaded, the woman slapping her face, punching her, stabbing and re-stabbing the slices on her heart, desperate to kill the girl who would not die.

He was sick, boneless as her blood flowed against him on the floor.

Finally, somehow, the girl managed to knock her mother off of her and crawled to the bathroom, locking it behind her just as her mother threw herself against the wood.

Dean was on his feet, finding himself able to glide through the door as he found the young girl lying on the ground, covered in her own blood and lying in a puddle of it. She'd managed to pull the knife out and seemed barely conscious. Silent tears made their way down her cheeks.

Moira screamed as she tried to break down the door.

The hunter sat down next to Chloe, his clothes soaking in more of her blood. He clenched his fists at his inability to do anything...at the realization that this was what she'd gone through. He'd known it'd been horrible, but he'd never expected the brutality and sheer _evil _he'd witnessed...and the thought of Chloe reliving this torment every night just made him want to scream and cry.

Dean brought his blood-stained hands to his face, letting out a little choked sound, before taking in a deep breath and removing them from his face...finding that the scene had changed while he'd had his eyes covered.

Instead of the bathroom they were now in a hospital in what was probably Metropolis considering that there was only a clinic in Smallville and this was not it.

Chloe was stitched up, hooked to machines, and seemed to be sedated.

Gabriel Sullivan sat by her side, shocking Dean with just how broken the man seemed. He just didn't fit the image the hunter had of him. This man seemed to adore his daughter and was terrified, guilty...he looked like he could understand this white hot impotence running through Dean's veins at the moment.

"She should be dead, the girl is incredibly lucky." A doctor was telling him. "We've found a strange substance shielding her heart, after analysis we discovered it to be solidified meteor dust and rock particles. She must have breathed in a considerable amount some years ago and it somehow formed a barrier around her heart-it's the only reason why the blade didn't break through and pierce the heart."

Gabe lowered his head, crying.

Dean found himself shocked at this. The man was completely broken down.

What had changed to turn this Gabriel into the one Dean knew of today?

Things seemed to speed up, people moving in and out rapidly, as if the dream was being fast-forwarded, and then Moira was there again to finish her job but Chloe fought her off and the psycho was pulled off of her daughter by others.

Only now did the dream return to normal speed, words being able to be heard again.

"I'm doing the Lord's work!" Moira screamed as she was dragged away. "She needs to die before she becomes a woman! She's Satan's tool! I have to stop her!"

"I'm so sorry honey." Gabe cried next to his daughter. "I'm so sorry!"

The teenager didn't answer.

Chloe didn't even look at him.

The blonde sat still on the bed, staring ahead of her, completely catatonic.

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The girl had just gone through another seizure, this one more violent than the others. Dean hadn't been that peaceful either, his face stricken, pale, furious. Whatever had happened had been horrible, and John couldn't understand why Dean hadn't woken her up by now.

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The dream was fast-forwarding again. Days and weeks seemed to pass with Chloe in some catatonic state. Even with her father being constantly by her side looking after her...even with Lois arriving soon afterwards to hold vigil as well...the girl didn't react to anything or anyone. It was as if her body was there, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Dean watched everything happening around him rapidly, how people came and left, how clothes changed, her bandages were changed, and slowly her wounds started to heal, scarring. She was finally taken home and stayed a couple of weeks more in bed, staring ahead of her unseeingly.

Finally the fast-forwarding stopped, and he found himself in real-time once more.

Lois was asleep on the bed next to her, having spent the whole night.

The hunter sat down next to Chloe, to the pale mouse, and tried to see the girl he knew.

She wasn't there.

Those eyes were vacant.

"Chloe?" He whispered, hesitating a second before reaching out to brush a blonde lock of hair out of her eyes.

Suddenly, for the first time in far too long, Chloe blinked, her eyes shifting towards him. "_Dean_?"

He grinned, smiling brightly, but then the light above them exploded, and he brought his hands up to shield his gaze.

There was a growl.

A snarl.

Someone was crying.

When the light dimmed down and Dean removed his hand from his eyes they weren't in the bedroom anymore. His eyes widened as he recognized the cellar in Hope, his stomach going sick as he realized what this was, what he was about to see.

"_Dean_." Chloe cried, his body pale, his head resting on her lap. "Please don't die! _Please_!"

"Chloe?" The hunter tried, but whatever had helped him break through before was gone, and he was no longer visible or audible to her. She also seemed to have even forgotten he'd been there at all, stuck in the moment of this memory.

"You can't die." Chloe whispered brokenly, her tears falling into his face, washing away the blood that covered his face.

Dean frowned as he looked at himself.

He looked-he looked-_dead_.

But he wasn't, he hadn't-.

This wasn't how it'd happened!

"What I am going to do?" Chloe whispered, staring down into his face, horribly scared and terribly lost. "I can't save her, I need you Dean. _Please come back_."

"He's dead." Another voice announced as suddenly out of the shadows of the darkest corner a man appeared. "You know that. His heart was pierced by his broken ribs. He's gone. He's no good to you now."

Dean remained frozen.

_What_?

Chloe closed her eyes tightly, bowing her head.

"I can help you." The man spoke. "I can save you."

Dean narrowed his eyes, turning towards the man. What the hell-?

Chloe looked up at him, wary yet hopeful. "_How_?"

"I can give you anything you ask for." The man came closer before bending on his knees to eye her face to face. "I can grant you anything you want, _anything_."

Dean felt a cold chill race up and down his spine as a horrifying thought began to register. "_No_."

The girl was trembling. "Who are you?"

He smiled, his eyes flashing gold. "I'm a _friend_."

Chloe tightened her grip on the dead Dean's shirt. "I don't have friends. Especially not here."

"I _am_ your friend." He replied, reaching out to wipe at a tear falling down her cheek. "What do you want? What do you need?"

"What do _you_ want?" She whispered back unflinchingly. "What do _you _need?"

He smiled. "Such a smart little girl."

She just stared at him.

"Chloe." Dean tried, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "Don't agree to anything this guy says! Chloe don't-!"

"Just three conditions." He replied. "Complete them and you will be free."

"I won't hurt anyone." She whispered.

"I won't ask you for that." He replied. "I will just ask you to retrieve an item, give someone a message, and leave a non-ticking package somewhere for someone else to pick up. That is all."

"That's all?" She asked softly.

"You have my word." He replied, reaching out his hand towards her. "Just tell me what you want."

Dean shook his head. "_Chloe_..."

The blonde stared down at the hunter whose head was nestled in her lap, his face almost a pale blue. She took in a deep breath before staring up at the demon in front of her. "Bring him back to life."

Dean collapsed to his knees.

"_What_?" The demon asked in obvious surprise. "I can take you out of here. I can destroy everyone in this town. I'll do it happily." He waggled his eyebrows. "To be honest I'll enjoy it immensely. They're annoying as _hell_...and I know hell quite intimately so I know what I'm talking about"

"Can you bring him back?" The fragile child asked.

The demon cleared his throat before nodding. "Yes, I can."

"Then do it." She ordered, placing her hand in his. "Otherwise, _leave_."

"Okay then little girl." The demon sighed before closing his fingers around hers. "It's a _deal_." His went molted gold. "You're going to get possessed now, I can feel him coming, but I'll block this from your mind so he doesn't know. An extra little favor for you, for free. I'll also give him a little excuse for why my host is here, so...apologies in advance for the split lip."

And then Chloe gasped as something descended visibly on her...and the demon's host attacked, tearing at her clothes and slapping her face hard.

Dean watched as Hathaway, in Chloe's body, reacted to the physical attack, fighting off one of his 'followers' and ending up killing him with the knife on him.

Chloe then held her head, covered in blood, obviously fighting the control Hathaway had on her before she once more went catatonic.

The hunter could practically see the life and color returning to his body as bones cracked loudly, reforming, his cuts closing up.

Margaret's words haunted him. "_She tainted herself for you the same way in which your mother tainted herself for your father."_

On his knees, Dean stared at his body, at the possessed girl, and at the host the demon had inhabited, everything finally falling into horrifying place. "_No_."

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**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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She'd left the package where Azazel had indicated, and even though she was a curious person Chloe never once had the desire to peek in and see what she was delivering. To be honest, she really didn't want to know. The less she knew the less guilty she'd feel, and that was all that mattered to her.

"So, you're going by _Tyson Brady_ now." The blonde shook her head, still unable to believe that she'd met up with Whitney of all people, and that he'd invited her back to his dorm-to the room he shared with _Dean's brother_. Seriously, what sort of coincidences _were_ these? They blew her mind!

"After dad gave me that last black eye I decided I needed to get the hell outta dodge and I didn't want to bring along anything he gave me." Whit-_Brady_-made a face. "Even if it was my name."

Chloe could understand bad parenting and wanting to distance yourself from that person. "I won't tell Sam, I promise. I think we all have our secrets."

"Thanks Chloe." Brady smiled at her.

Outside music blared from the party being thrown by the few people who'd moved into the old building the school was slowly renovating to make into a new dorm for their overflowing number of students. Chloe had met some of the students already, though she didn't think she'd know them long enough to form opinions about them or even friendships.

Plus, the girls she'd met had been the giggly kind, and she just did _not_ do giggling.

The door opened and Sam entered, raising an eyebrow at Brady. "You're being called."

"By who?" Brady blinked.

Sam shrugged, throwing himself on his bed.

"What's up with you?" Brady mumbled as he pushed himself up from his bed and left, a curious expression on his face.

Chloe turned her gaze towards Sam Winchester, knowing he was somewhat uncomfortable with her considering she knew his big bad secret, but she couldn't keep her curiosity concerning him to herself. "So, it must have taken a lot of balls to leave like you did. I met your dad, and he's intimidating."

Sam's gaze zeroed in on her and he nodded.

She got up and went towards him, hesitating a second before sitting down on the edge so she could talk softer. "You don't have to be so, uh, nervous. I'm not going to tell Brady anything. You have your secrets and I respect that."

Sam sat up, closer in her space.

Chloe gulped, staring up into his eyes. "You know, you look nothing like him."

"Like...my father?" Sam asked, gaze trailing down the curve of her neck.

She cleared her throat, feeling a blush rising up her neck. "No—uh—I meant Dean."

"Dean." Sam eyed her curiously.

"Yeah, I mean, you're brothers but you are _very_ different." She nodded, warming to the subject. "You're darker colored like your dad, so I'm guessing Dean's lighter like your mom."

"I see..." he reached out and ran his fingertips down the curve of her neck only to raise them back up to rest against the rapid beating of her pulse.

"D-do y-you?" Damn it, she was squeaking!

"You're the only girl in this whole damned place who's my type." He mumbled to himself, leaning closer, taking in her scent. "So..._pure_."

That made her confused for a second as she pulled away somewhat, frowning at his face. "Pure?"

Sam didn't let her think too much on that though, reaching out and sinking his hands in her hair as he pulled her to him, smashing their lips together somewhat forcefully as his tongue invaded her mouth. She'd never been kissed like this before, and the blonde cried out into the kiss, finding her hands clutching at his shirt as he drew her in nearer.

A part of her was scared, but this was Dean's brother. If he was Dean's brother she could trust him.

She tried kissing him back, although she wasn't exactly sure how. Her inexperience was horribly embarrassing and somewhat mortifying, but it seemed to turn him on more, and suddenly she was beneath him and his hands were in her hair tightly, keeping her in place under him as he straddled her hips.

He yanked his mouth away long enough to stare down at her and mutter. "You're trembling." He tilted his head to the side, his lips playing at a smile. "You're scared."

"You're Dean's brother." She breathed in and out, staring up at him in silence before whispering. "That means I can trust you."

Sam's smirked grew as he leaned down and kissed her hard as his hand trailed down to her chest.

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"In related news, multi-billionaire Lionel Luthor suffered a fatal heart attack this evening while flying on his private jet to Tokyo to conduct a series of meetings which would have solidified a union with the Japanese Makoto Company." The woman on the news declared, the television in Chloe's hospital room providing some sound for John, who was growing increasingly wary with the time it was taking Dean to wake the girl up.

Obviously something unplanned for had occurred.

"Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor's only son and heir, has issued a press release stating that while the loss of his father is a blow both to him and the company Lionel created and nurtured into a highly successful franchise, that he plans to step into his father's very large shoes and make him proud."

John made a face, changing the channel, hoping to find something more interesting, yet considering the rest of the programming had cooking events and reality shows, he ended up returning back to the news.

Chloe whimpered, twisting slightly in her binds, and yet not seeming close to an attack.

Dean turned his head to the side, sucking in his breath harshly.

John frowned as he leaned forwards on his seat, elbows leaning on his knees.

Just exactly what was happening?

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Dean wouldn't have minded it if that fast-forward shit activated right about now. He just did _not_ want to sit through this, especially knowing that it was the perverted ghost in Sam's skin was doing these things. Then again, even if it _had_ been Sammy this would have been extremely fucked up.

Either way Dean didn't want to see this.

He didn't want to hear it either.

The kid was making some sounds no kid should make.

She shouldn't be arching up into possessed!Sam either, her trembling hands in his hair. The girl was obviously scared, completely inexperience, clumsy in her attempts to keep up with the near aggressive kissing and touches. At certain times, when she'd pull away for air, her eyes'd would open and a flash of worry, of fear, would cloud them, and then she'd shake her head and push forwards again.

Chloe's words while in the Impala came back to him. "_I __really_ wanted to lose my virginity. Why not to your brother? If he was anything like you I knew I could trust him..."

Dean clenched his fist, slamming it sideways into the wall, the force of the blow causing something on the nightstand to shake.

Chloe pushed away from Sam to eye the wobbly thing in confusion.

Suddenly, as Sam began to slide her skirt up her thighs, something with a black mass and glowing eyes flickered behind him.

Chloe narrowed her gaze on it in confusion. "What do you want?"

It opened its mouth and an inhuman sound emerged along with glowing green flames.

The flames consumed everything, and then the scene changed. Instead of those two in the bedroom Chloe's hands were bound together with leather and raised above her head, secured to a hook that was so high she stood on her tip toes to keep from dangling in the air.

A man, tall, dark hair, blue eyes, with a spiderweb tattoo on his neck and in overalls chuckled as he sang softly. "The itsy bitsy spider ran up the water spout," he trailed his finger up her thigh. "Down came the rain and washed the spider out." He shifted so that his palm was now flushed against her skin and making its way up her inner thigh. "My little virgin."

"LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE!" Dean tried to hit him despite knowing it would do no good, his hands going through the vile memory like a ghost.

"Please..." she cried, trying to fight the leather binds yet unable to do anything else yet apparently arouse her captor with her struggles. "Please don't..."

He ignored her, his bright blue eyes staring down at her as he continued to hum the nursery rhyme, cupping her intimately with his hand.

Chloe cried, horrified and ashamed, turning her head away as he leaned forwards and sucked on her neck. "Please!"

Dean clenched his fists tightly, dying to rip that man into pieces and disgusted at himself for being unable to do so.

Chuckling the man pulled away, staring into her eyes, seeming to eat up her fear as he yanked at her underwear, the sound of it tearing echoing in Dean's ears.

"No!" Chloe screamed.

He freed himself, one hand aligning himself at her entrance, the other grabbing her hair and holding her still as he kissed her hard, readying to push in home.

Suddenly a blonde with curly hair appeared and _tasered_ him.

Dean's eyes widened, confused as to how this could have worked given the fact that this guy was supposed to be a _ghost_, and yet it _did_ work, the ghost flickered and disappeared with a yell and curse.

"_Chloe_?" The girl hurried towards her shakily.

Chloe turned her green orbs on the newcomer and burst out crying. "_Jess_!"

Reaching up on her tiptoes, the tall girl undid Chloe's binds, catching the younger female when she stumbled into her arms. "Are you okay?"

Chloe held onto her tightly, sobbing.

Jess ran her hand over Chloe's hair soothingly. "Come on, we have to get back to Sam and Brady's room before Spencer regroups and comes back."

Chloe nodded, allowing Jess to help lead her back towards the dorm room, turning the corner and getting out of view.

Dean had long forgotten about the creature and the green flames, hurrying after the two girls and turning the corner...finding himself in a garage, Pete and Chloe laughing as they painted, although they seemed more covered with paint than the walls.

"So you're not going to try sneakily invite Adam along anymore now that this Dean dude's arrived?" Pete asked curiously, eyeing her in interest.

"Exactly." Chloe nodded, making up a face. "I like Adam a lot, don't get me wrong, but Dean's basically _perfect_. And Lois deserves that after all she's had to put up with me."

"You're not _that_ annoying." Pete teased.

Chloe cried in mock-insult, flicking some of her paint on him.

He laughed and flicked some on her.

Dean was beginning to see why they were more covered with the paint than the walls.

"So, you really think Lois and him are going to hook up?" Pete asked curiously.

"There was definitely chemistry between them before." Chloe shrugged. "So who knows? I'm just going to, you know, give them a little push and see how things work out."

"If things don't work, I call dibs on your cousin." Pete chuckled. "She's _hot_."

"I think if things don't work out, Adam has dibs." Chloe pointed out.

Pete made a face. "_Damn_."

The blonde laughed.

Dean sighed as he leaned against the non-painted wall, sighing as he folded his arms over his chest as he watched her. There were few times that this girl had smiled this openly, and his genuine regard for Pete grew at his talent for making it come out like that.

Jesus.

The hunter had known that the girl had gone through so much, but living through it made it so _real_ somehow. It was as if it'd been a distant nightmare before, but now it was a memory he'd share with her, one which would haunt him.

He was never going to be able to look at her like a kid again.

Not after witnessing all she'd been through.

"Chloe." He whispered, clenching his fists when she still was unable to hear him. "Chloe you need to _wake up_."

She laughed with Pete, finally bringing her brush to the wall.

"Wake up Chloe." Dean tried, pushing away from the wall and going to kneel next to her. "_Wake up_."

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Chloe groaned, pulling on her strapped down hands.

John stood, going to lean over her, wondering if this was it, if she was finally waking up.

She turned her face away from him and made up her face. The girl seemed to be whispering something.

John narrowed his eyes, leaning in, touching her shoulders as he brought his ear to her lips.

Suddenly something jolted from her into him, seeping in through his hands, and everything went black.

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The five year old cried in the corner of her room. Her whole body was bright red and blotchy, nearly bleeding, from the bath she'd had to endure. Her mother had thrown her into scalding hot water and scrubbed every inch of her body viciously, trying to remove the "evil" from her.

"Jesus." Dean hissed, slamming his fist into the wall. "I'm going to fucking _kill_ that woman!"

The kid looked up at him, eyes filled with tears. "Why does she hate me so much?"

His eyes widened and he turned to look around him, seeing no one. The hunter turned back to her. "Are you talking to _me_?"

"Who else would I be talking to, Dean?" She whispered, sniffling, wiping at her tears.

"You can see me." He whispered to himself, shocked by this new development. "Why now and not before?"

"What?" She looked up at him, her five-year-old self so tiny.

"Chloe, this is a dream. This has all been one huge nightmare." Dean announced, coming towards her and kneeling in front of her, staring into those eyes that now more than ever seemed far too old for her body. "None of this is real. You need to wake up. Okay?"

The kid tilted her head to the side, one of her messy ponytails drooping further as she considered his words.

"Something happened to you, and you're in a mini coma right now." The hunter explained. "I think it has something to do with dad's case."

"John's case?" She began to suck her thumb, grabbing her ear with her free hand.

"Yeah." He nodded, relieved to realize that although her body was so young, her mind was still that of his Chloe. "I think this is the 'fit' you said the victims used to go into."

She sucked on her thumb harder, causing her words to be muffled. "Spring-Heel Jack?"

"Yes." He nodded once more, encouraged.

"_Chloe_!" Moira's voice yelled, her footsteps loud and approaching.

Chloe's eyes widened in terror as she turned towards the door, seeming to forget all about Dean.

"_Chloe_!" Dean grabbed her shoulders and gave her a little shake, forcing her attention back to him. "Chloe, you can wake up from this. You just need to wake up."

The door's handle began to rattle. "Why is your door locked?" Moira snapped menacingly. "You know I don't let you lock me out! What are you doing? Answer me!"

Chloe whimpered, once more forgetting about Dean, gaze going to the door, shadows darkening and closing in on them as the door seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

"OPEN THIS DOOR!"

"_Chloe_!" Dean reached for her chin and forced her to look at him, refusing to let go as his light hazels met her scared greens. "Chloe. _Trust_ me. Close your eyes and wake up. Just _wake up_."

She stared up into his eyes.

Moira kicked at the door. "OPEN THIS DOOR! DO AS MOMMY SAYS!"

Chloe shivered before closing her eyes tightly. "I want to wake up...I want to wake up!"

The whole door began to shake viciously, the sound of wood breaking warning them that Moira was nearly through.

"I WANT TO WAKE UP!" Chloe screamed.

Something hollered, cried, shrieked, howled, _roared_.

And then all was black.

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Chloe gasped as she opened her eyes, trying to sit up but unable to. She tilted her head down, terror rising in her chest as she saw herself strapped down to some sort of bed. The blonde opened her mouth to scream, tears of fear blinding her view.

"It's okay!" Dean was there in seconds, already beginning to undo her ties. "You're at the hospital...you had to be restrained because you were having seizures."

Once her hands were free the blonde shakily helped him finish unbinding her before sitting up and throwing herself off of the bed onto her shaky feet. She didn't want to be on that bed, not with those binds. She'd been restrained before, and just being in a similar circumstance filled her with nausea.

"What happened?" Chloe brought her hand to her head, shaking as she turned to Dean. "Why are we in the hospital? Why was I having seizures?"

He narrowed his eyes on her. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" She hugged herself, cold in the hospital gown. "I went to the door because someone was screaming for help...and then everything went black and I awoke here."

Dean just stood there, silent, seeming completely conflicted over something. He just stared at her, almost as if he was seeing her for the first time and evaluating her.

It unnerved the blonde.

The hunter hung his head, almost as if unable to look at her. "We should have the doctor look you over to make sure you're okay."

"What _happened_?" She pressed.

"I...we're not sure." Dean still wouldn't look at her, but there were shadows on his face, his eyes pasted to the ground. "It's why we need to call the doctor in here to look you over."

"I'm fine." She rubbed her arms. "I just want to leave-."

"Just let the goddamn doctor look you over!" Dean snapped angrily at her.

She recoiled at that, eyes wide.

Dean growled, hissing to himself as he ran his hand over his head.

What the hell was going on?

Something was obviously _really_ bothering him!

And she had the suspicion that it somehow had to do with _her_.

Chloe gulped, nervous.

Dean finally looked up, his eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth, almost as if about to confront her about something.

Chloe met his gaze, wondering if her worry showed.

Dean closed his mouth, opened it, then closed it again, cursing once more as he clenched his fists. "Get back in bed. I'm going to find your doctor."

And with that he stormed out of the room.

Chloe turned to watch him go, something cold deep inside of her.

"_What_ _happened_?"

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**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean - 23

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Dean hadn't looked her in the eye since she'd awoken.

The doctors had wanted to keep her a bit longer for observation and to run some tests to make sure that she was truly fine, and although she'd made her feelings on the matter clear Dean hadn't listened to the girl at all, instead telling the doctors to keep Chloe as long as they saw fit. He'd then left and hadn't returned since. It'd been hours ago, and Chloe had undergone numerous tests, all telling the doctors what she'd already known: she was perfectly healthy.

The blonde sat by the window in her hospital room, staring out at the dark parking lot below, noticing how there wasn't a Chevy Impala parked there, not that she'd expected to find the 'Pala. She sighed, wondering what exactly had happened during her missing time. Obviously it'd been serious considering that not only had she been in a mini coma and suffering from seizures, but much more importantly, Dean was avoiding her because of it.

Was Dean angry with her because she kept getting into trouble? Was she getting on his last nerve? Was he pissed off because she was being more and more burdensome to have around? Maybe being here with his dad reminded him what he was missing out on while he wasted his time babysitting her?

The blonde pulled a shock of hair behind her ear before pressing her forehead against the cool glass.

It was to be expected, really.

She'd run her family away, why not him as well?

Despite the fact that she could understand that she'd somehow driven him away, had in fact quite expected it, the realization hurt.

It _really_ hurt.

Movement in the parking lot caught her attention, and she narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out the figure clouded in darkness. It was tall, somehow very masculine despite being so camouflaged by the shadows, and lean. It rose its gaze towards her and the girl caught a glimpse of burning red eyes before it crouched down, long legs bent, and leapt into the air, disappearing from sight.

Chloe gasped, jerking away from the window.

Spring-Heel...

She'd just seen Spring-Heeled Jack!

It really _was_ him!

He was _here_!

She needed to call Dean!

She needed to-!

The blonde stopped amidst her desperate dash towards her bag, where her cellular was on vibrate. She hesitated, worrying her bottom lip as she contemplated whether she should really call the hunter. On one hand she'd seen the thing his father was after, and yet on the other Dean had seemed really pissed. Would he even answer the call if he saw that it was her number? Did she want to find out?

Gulping, the blonde sighed and reached into her bag, rummaging around before her hand came into contact with the phone, flipping it open as she hesitated once more.

Maybe a text message would be better?

She could subject it **urgent**.

He'd read it then, right?

Shaking her right leg nervously, Chloe entered in her text message to his device, deciding to make it short and unto the point, doing her best to not irritate him further.

**RE: URGENT!**

**Just saw Spring-Heel from my window...please let your father know it's still in town.**

She pressed **send** and flipped the phone closed, holding it to her heart before dropping it back into her bag.

The door opened and someone slipped into the room.

Chloe's eyes widened. "_You_."

The woman from the diner closed the door behind her.

Clearing her throat, Chloe pushed back the slight hysteria that built, trying for a little smile. "Hannah, right?"

The woman nodded.

Chloe hugged herself tightly. "How are you?"

The phone started to vibrate loudly with a call.

"You need to come with me." Hannah replied with a strange calmness to her. "You need to leave with me before he comes for you."

"Who?" Chloe narrowed her eyes at the woman. "_Who_ is coming?"

"The same thing that took all those girls...he's been watching you." Hannah explained. "He's knows."

Chloe hugged herself tighter. "What are you talking about?"

The phone stopped vibrating, and then started once more.

"I don't have time for this." Hannah reached into her pocket and pulled out something in her clenched fist. "I'd hoped I wouldn't have to use this again." With that she opened her fist and blew the green powder into Chloe's face.

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Dean couldn't face her.

Instead he'd gone to his father's motel room, trying to find where the man had disappeared to. John should have been at the hospital when they woke up but he hadn't been, and the only reason Dean could come up with for that was that something had happened case-wise. But considering he'd definitely seen a creature in Chloe's nightmares, even if only briefly, it confused the young hunter.

Shamefully enough though, that wasn't what dominated his mind. In fact, once he'd realized his father wasn't at the motel, Dean had just gotten in his car and driven, destination: nowhere. He'd just needed to feel his baby purr beneath him as his mind was in chaos over all he'd learnt over so short a time.

The abuse Chloe had gone through was horrifying and haunting, but that too took a backseat to the vision that would forever scar Dean: the image of her crying over his dead body, of her _making a deal with a demon_ for him. For _him_.

He slammed the palm of his hand into the steering wheel as he cursed, pressing down on the accelerator.

That little girl had taken a demon's hand for _him_.

She'd been offered everything in the world, she could have wished herself and her cousin out of there in the blink of an eye, and yet she'd wished for the life of a _stranger_ to be returned.

Jesus!

Dean ran his fingers through his hair, fighting the choking feeling climbing up his chest.

This was how she'd tainted herself-by accepting a contract with a devil-for _him_.

This was what his mother had done for his _father_.

Goddamn it!

He slammed his hand into the steering wheel once more, the car swerving slightly on the road.

Why hadn't Chloe told him?

Why hadn't she told anyone?

Why had she just let him drive away with his father and Caleb without saying one word?

She'd tied herself to a demon, to _servitude_ until certain conditions were met, and she did this while letting him leave! She'd never expected to see him again, the look on her face when she'd seen him in her home said it all, and yet she'd done all that...

Dean was fucking pissed!

It was why he couldn't be near her right now, not while in this state.

All he wanted to do was confront her, scream and shake her. He wanted to break things, kick things, and curse up a fucking storm!

How could she-?

How-?

Dean closed his eyes tightly despite the fact he was driving, letting out a loud sigh before finally opening his eyes once more.

Was she still bound to the contract?

The fear that fueled the fury finally began to emerge.

Was she still being ordered around by that demon?

Did it still have her in its clutches?

Was she still smiling at Dean, pretending everything was alright, when things were literally going to _hell_?

Dean took the curve at breakneck speed.

How could he have not known?

How could he have not _suspected_ anything?

He knew how badly he'd been from the accident before he blacked out...before he _died_.

How could he not have been more suspicious when he woke up merely sore?

He'd been so damn overconfident!

So stupid!

And then he'd gone a whole year on his own, not knowing that that kid was in demonic servitude _because of him._

He'd been living the life, doing his own thing, and she'd been...

Damn it all to _hell_!

Dean stepped on the breaks, the Impala screeching loudly, complaining as it came to a standstill in the highway, skidding slightly before finally stopping.

Letting out a little whimper, Dean hunched over, letting go of the steering wheel and bringing his hands to his face.

His phone rang.

He ignored it, closing his eyes tightly.

The ringing was persistent.

Dean snarled, reaching in his pocket, flipping the lid open to reject the call when he saw the number.

It was Sammy.

Again.

Was he calling to snap at him about Chloe once more?

Then great!

Dean had pent up fury and needed to take it out on _someone_!

Accepting the call, Dean brought it to his ear and opened his mouth to tell his brother to go screw his girlfriend and leave him the fuck alone.

"Are you with dad?" Sam's voice was urgent, a hint of hysteria squeaking his words. "Jesus Dean! Answer me! Are you and Chloe somewhere with dad?"

"So what if we are?" Dean snapped, viciously relieved to be able to let out some of his anger, even if it was misdirected. "It's none of your fucking business-."

"Where's Chloe now?" Sam interrupted, not seeming at all to notice, or care, about Dean's need to vent and rage. "Is she with you?"

"No, and you know what? You need to stop-!"

"Goddamn it Dean! Go back to her! Now!" Sam once more interrupted, his voice growing more desperate. "I don't understand why, but dad's going to do something to her!"

Dean went still, all his fury disappearing, replaced by confusion and fear. "What the hell are you talking about? Dad would never-."

"I don't have time to explain this but you have to believe me, okay?" Sam's voice wobbled. "You have to get her and take her far away from dad! She's in danger!"

"_Dad would never_-!"

"_Dean_!" Sam yelled. "Dean _please_! Just trust me!"

Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, Dean turned it brusquely, pressing hard on the accelerator, the 'Pala's tires shrieking as he performed a sharp U-turn in the thankfully empty road before speeding back in the direction he'd come from.

"Talk to me, Sammy. What the _hell_ is going on?"

"I don't have time to explain it, but you've got to trust me on this." Sam sounded worried, tired. "You have to get to her, Dean. I'm going to hang up on you and continue calling her...I just hope we're not too late."

And with that he hung up.

Dean pressed the accelerator down as far as it would go.

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The girl lay on the bed, a silk slip adorning her body, riding high on her thighs, its shortness and her position barely keeping her decent. A necklace adorned her chest, resting beside the scars on her chest, symbols carved into the amulet. She was asleep, peaceful, her hair around her on the cushion like golden waves.

"Are you sure we need to go to these extremes?" Krista asked softly, gazing down into the room, hugging herself.

"Until she's a woman they're going to keep sniffing around her. It's better for her to cross this threshold with as little violence as possible." Hannah replied, far less insane than she appeared, gazing down at the sleeping girl. "Life's going to be difficult on its own. She doesn't even have to know this ever happened, but it will ease her situation."

"I don't understand why you felt the necessity to put on the charade in the bathroom." Krista worried her bottom lip. "Why show yourself and in such a manner? I was sure she was going to blurt out everything to the hunters she was with! I still don't get why she didn't!"

"I wanted to scare her." The woman admitted wryly. "Wanted to see how she'd react." She raised an eyebrow. "She lived up to my expectations, she's worthy of my help."

"That was unnecessarily cruel." Krista frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "And to use Maddie in the deception? That was _low_."

Hannah flinched, gazing away from the sleeping girl. "She looks so much like her-it makes me _furious_."

"Don't take it out on the girl." Krista reprimanded. "It's not her fault."

"I know." Hannah sighed, shaking her head. "I misdirected my anger and need to be cruel. But I'm making it up by doing this now, aren't I? When this is over she won't be in danger of being thrown over the threshold so viciously...she's lucky she hasn't been forcefully taken yet."

Krista made a face. "But doesn't this seem like rape?"

"No, she will have no memory of it ever happening. Whenever she decides to do this of her own free will, in her mind, it will be her first time. That's the way it should be- this will give her the time she needs to finish growing up." Hannah replied firmly, quite sure of this as the door to the bedroom below opened and a man slowly walked inside. "It's the least I can do after letting her down the way I have."

"It wasn't your fault." Krista ran her fingers through her hair. "You couldn't have known that would happen."

"I _should_ have known. If I had done things differently the situation would be drastically different and she'd have been prepared and wouldn't have to go through this right now." Hannah responded curtly before sighing, gaze returning to where Chloe Sullivan slept peacefully. "She seems to be somehow fighting the soulmate sigils placed on her by that meddling cupid...that...intrigues me."

"I don't understand why they placed the soulmate sigils on her and the man to begin with." Krista admitted softly. "The children of the previous Asset are still alive and in their prime. I understand _why_ they placed the sigils on the Asset and the Marine; they couldn't stand each other initially despite the fact that they were needed to create the True Vessels." The woman frowned. "But the True Vessels are already here. Why do they still do this then?"

"That is a very good question." Hannah replied as she stared down at the girl, and at the man staring down at her by the side of the bed. "Maybe they fear that one of the True Vessels has become..._incapable_ of following his predestined role and want to make sure that another, a replacement, is at the ready when the time comes?"

"But what could make a True Vessel incapable of doing what he was born for?" Krista just couldn't understand it. "Their parents were manipulated into being together so that they could be born. Their whole existence was merely for this purpose. There should be _nothing_ that could make them incapable of doing what they were created for...their sole purpose in the whole design."

Hannah remained silent, gazing below as John Winchester lowered himself onto the bed.

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Dean swerved to a stop, barely missing the bloody girl on the road. She was lying there, crying, reaching out towards him, begging. Her body had been sliced, and the blood coating her inner thighs proved that she was just as abused internally as well. The girl looked Chloe's age, with black hair and blue eyes that were brightened by the dark bruises covering her face.

In the shadows, on the side of the road, he could see red eyes glowing, watching, _waiting_.

Sam's warning echoed in his head, but Dean couldn't just drive away, he couldn't go and leave this girl to a horrible fate.

He _couldn't_.

Cursing, the young hunter grabbed his gun and kicked the door open.

His father wouldn't hurt Chloe.

He _wouldn't._

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**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean – 23

**This chapter is dedicated to The Alternative Source. *big hug***

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John Winchester lay in bed, gazing at his wife as she slept next to him in nothing but a silk slip. She was so beautiful, so radiant, and sometimes he couldn't believe that she was actually his. If anyone had ever told him that the girl that annoyed the hell out of him (who he'd honestly thought once upon a time was the most dislikable human being in the world) would become the love of his life he would have laughed it all off...but yet here she was.

She mumbled something softly in her sleep, turning to face him, still deep in sleep.

John smiled tenderly, reaching out and brushing the tips of his fingers against her cheek. The skin was softer than he remembered and he kept his hand there, fingers tracing lazy symbols down her jaw as he tried to remember when he'd realized he was in love with her.

The young husband made a face, realizing he really couldn't pinpoint a time or reason for why his and Mary's great dislike for each other had turned into the love they now shared, but it didn't bother him too much. What mattered was that he had her now.

They were fated and no one could fight fate.

That was all that mattered.

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at him sleepily before those eyes widened and she sat up. "_John_?"

He chuckled at the overreaction. "You looked like you were having an intense dream."

"What are you doing in bed with me?" She asked, pulling away slightly, bringing the sheets up to her chest.

Shaking his head in amusement, John sat up, leaning forwards as he rested his elbows on his bent knees. "You're still annoyed that I've been spending so much time at the garage, aren't you?"

Her green eyes conveyed utter confusion. "_Huh_?"

"Don't tell me I did _something else_ that annoyed you." He chuckled. "I'm a horrible husband."

"Have you hit your head?" She asked softly, letting go of the sheets as she sat on her knees, eyeing him in worry.

"Not that I can remember." He humored her, enjoying this odd little moment. "But if you find a bump, will you kiss it better?"

Her eyes widened and a dark blush formed on her cheeks, bleeding down her neck to her breasts invitingly. "You're drunk, aren't you?"

He threw his head back and laughed. "What _is_ it with you this morning? You're _comical_." He surged forwards and kissed her deeply, intrigued by her little cry and the way she went tense, wondering why she was so virginally coy this morning.

"John!" She cried out in scandalized shock when he moved them so that she straddled him, his hands on her hips as he grinned up at her.

"Yes, Mary?" He humored her, gazing up at how beautiful she looked, so young and lips so kissed.

"_Mary_?"She whispered in confusion, turning to look around her with a little frown. "What are-? _Where _are-?" Her eyes widened in horror as her green orbs fell on her own reflection in the large standing mirror. "_What the_-?"

In seconds she'd shoved off of him and stumbled off of the bed, rushing to the mirror to stare at herself in confusion. She touched her face, her hair, and then nearly scratched the unblemished skin over her heart in utter confusion. "How-?"

A little worried by now, John slipped from the bed and came up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "What's wrong darling?"

"I'm not...me." She just _stared_ at their reflection. "Why am I not me?"

"You look you to me." He mumbled.

"Of course I'd look like me to you!" She huffed. "That's because I'm not the me you think I am!"

He paused. "Say that again?"

"This isn't happening." She groaned, bringing her hands up to her face only to ultimately peer at their reflections once more through her fingers. "Dean said something about a dream before...or was that a dream?" The blonde frowned, pulling her hands from her face with a little groan. "I'm...confused...was I dreaming then...or am I dreaming _now_?"

He pressed a kiss to her neck as he rubbed her stomach slowly. "Who's Dean?"

"And _you_! You're _young_! You're like _Dean's_ age!" She gasped in utter shock as she pointed to his reflection. "I didn't even realize it before but you're not fine wine anymore! You're just..._fine_!" Her eyes narrowed, going confused. "But I've never seen you young...how did I know it was you? I shouldn't have known it was you."

"You're losing me." He chuckled. "Though, the whole 'fine' comment was a great ego stroker. You may continue."

"What's this necklace?" Mary asked softly, hand going up to clasp the necklace that had once been her mother's. "I-."

John felt the jolt of electricity that raced through her once her fingers curled around the pendant and he frowned in worry. "Mary? Are you ok? What happened?"

Her eyes seemed a little vacant for a second, before she smiled at their reflection. "Hmmmm?"

"It felt as if-."

"_Johnny_," she whispered, turning in his embrace, seeming smaller in his arms than usual for some odd reason as she smiled up at him.

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"Goddamn it!" Dean growled, standing over the girl protectively, trying to see where the thing had gone to. Every time he thought he had the fucker pinpointed it would leap in the air fast as lightning, blending in with the darkness, and it was only once it descended and gazed at Dean again would he know where it was.

The thing was fast, tall, and obviously playing with him.

"I don't wanna die." The girl sobbed at his feet.

Dean ignored her, eyes alert on the darkness surrounding him.

What the hell was this creature up to?

It obviously had the advantage here! So why wasn't it really attacking? Why wasn't it trying to take this girl back? If it _really_ wanted to Dean knew that without the proper weapons and backup he'd already be on the pavement, slashed by the silver tips on the creature's fingers.

So why was it only playing around?

Unless...

Suddenly Dean's eyes narrowed in realization.

"It's stalling me."

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Hannah watched the room below, a smile curving her lips. It'd been a rocky start, but when Chloe had touched the necklace the spell had taken effect. The girl was now in a dream-like state and truly believed herself to be Mary Campbell...newly Mary Winchester. It'd been easy to access the memories from John's mind and transfer them to the necklace, which implanted them into Chloe's subconscious.

Krista had long left, saying she couldn't watch.

Hannah watched without hesitance.

This was for the greater good.

She was doing this for the kid's sake.

She didn't see why she should feel any guilt whatsoever.

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Something wasn't right.

Mary whimpered as John kissed her deeply, pressing her against the wall with his body.

No matter how sweetly he kissed, or how softly he touched, she couldn't find that blankness in her head...that moment where her thoughts stopped and all she felt was warm pleasure. On the contrary, her thoughts were roaring with warning, blaring like a siren, and something screamed in the back of her head that this was wrong. The voice sounded male, sounded pissed, and sounded _a lot_ like someone she shouldn't disobey.

The voice wasn't her husband's, but there was something about it that made her push away nonetheless.

John frowned down at her face and then lowered his gaze to the hands she had flat against his chest, keeping him at arm's length. "What is it?"

"I don't-I don't _know_." She tensed her arms when he tried to move back towards her. "But I can't do this."

"Why not?" John's eyes narrowed further.

"I don't know." Mary whispered, hanging her head, eyes narrowed as she tried to understand it herself. "It feels _wrong_."

He pulled away from her, hurt in his every feature. "_Wrong_? How could it feel _wrong_? You're my _wife_!"

"Am I?" She brought her hand to her head, tilting her gaze towards her reflection, gazing at herself. There was a woman there that she knew to be herself staring right back at her with disoriented pain in the reflection.

"Of _course_ you're my wife!"

Mary continued to stare at her reflection, refusing to look away, until suddenly it began to flicker.

For a second, for a blinking of an eye, a different person had stared back at her.

Agonizing pain took over, driving the blonde to her knees.

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What was going on?

Hannah pressed her hand to the plate glass as she stared down at the room below, where Chloe was on her knees, clutching her head and screaming. John, even in his sleepwalking state, was reacting as he would if his darling little wife were the one in agony.

The woman narrowed her eyes.

The girl couldn't be fighting the spell...could she?

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"That's _it_!" Dean snapped, reaching down to grab the girl by her waist, hauling her onto her feet. "We need to make it to my car, _now_."

"But he's still out there!" The girl cried, clutching at him, freezing up and slowing their progress.

Keeping his gun at the ready, Dean couldn't see the thing anymore and that made him incredibly uneasy as he finally made it to the 'Pala, opening the back door. "Get in."

The dark haired girl continued to cry and sob as she eased herself into the seat, lying down.

Closing the door Dean turned around and came face to face with the creature, cursing as he raised his gun to shoot, only to have it jerked out of his grasp and flung away.

The girl just screamed and cried from the backseat.

Just as the creature raised its silver-tipped claws to slash Dean, lights blared brightly, blindingly, and were the only warning before a Land Rover ran the thing down.

Dean blinked, staring down at his feet, which were not an inch away from the tire.

He'd come close to getting run over himself!

The window rolled down and some punk leaned his elbow out on the window frame, scowling. "He's going to regroup quickly, so I suggest you give the girl to me and go get yours."

"What?" Dean narrowed his eyes at the man, who was around his age. "Who the hell are you and-?"

"Look, _boy_, your girl's in trouble. You know the old abandoned research clinic on the outskirts of town? You passed it on your way in." The man pulled back a long black strand from his face behind his pierced ear. "She's being kept there, and you're being kept from finding her until it's done."

"_What's_ done?" Dean frowned darkly.

"Just _get_ there." The man narrowed his eyes.

"_Luther_!" The girl slipped out of the back of the Impala and hobbled around it, hurrying towards the Land Rover. "I knew you'd come back for me!"

The man frowned at her before leaning over and opening the front passenger's door. "Get in. We don't have much time."

Dean's eyes narrowed further. "Any relation to Lex Luthor?"

"Luther's my first name, so no." The man snorted before revving his engine, pressing down on the gas and was gone.

But the hunter didn't care; he was already inside 'Pala and speeding towards the abandoned research clinic.

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The world around her was flickering.

Mary held her head, which felt like it was being bashed on all sides with hammers, keeping her eyes open despite the agony because otherwise she'd be blind to the way the room changed constantly. With every blink the room flickered between her sunny, beautiful, cozy bedroom with pictures and her clothes in the closet-to a dark, dingy, abandoned looking room that seemed like it hadn't been lived in for years. It also didn't looked like it'd once been the room of a _house_, instead it looked like the rooms patients who were being observed were kept it.

And John...John kept changing too.

In one blink he was the John she'd married months ago, so young and handsome, so willing...and in the next it was as if he'd aged. He was still so handsome, still her John, but the change was confusing, warning her to listen to that gravelly male voice snapping in her head for her to 'get her head out of her ass' and to get with the 'goddamn program'.

A name, which belonged to the voice, was on the tip of her tongue, at the edge of her brain.

Who was it?

Where did she know it from?

"Mary..." John placed his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

She held her head tightly, watching him flicker between young and older. "I don't think this is real."

"_What_?" He frowned down at her. "You're confusing me."

"D-D-." She closed her eyes tightly. "It's something with a D!"

"What is?" He was very worried now, that was obvious. "Should I call for an ambulance?"

"D...D...De...Dee...D..." Mary grabbed her hair tightly, trying to push away the fog in her mind trying to keep the information from her. "D...Dee..._Dean_." Her eyes flew open as suddenly the illusion shattered around her as her necklace broke, crumbling to the ground. "_Dean_." The blonde watched as everything went from bright and sunny to the dark dinginess, and the illusion of young!John slipped away. "_Dean_!"

"_Mary_?" John whispered, looking so confused.

"I'm not Mary." She whispered, letting go of her death grip on her head and hair, letting out a little chuckle as the world was right again. "I'm _Chloe_." The blonde narrowed her gaze up at him, seeing how disoriented and dazed his eyes were. "And you're sleepwalking...just like I was last night."

"That's it; I'm taking you to the hospital." His grip on her shoulders tightened. "Let's go."

"John, let go." She flinched, trying to get free.

He tightened his grip on her further. "No. What is _wrong_ with you? You're my wife, goddamn it!"

"You need to wake up." She whispered to herself, looking around her before her eyes widened and she smiled up at him. "Or go back to sleep."

"_What_?" John frowned.

Relying on a combination of Lois and Dean's lessons, Chloe surged forwards as if to kiss him, yet grabbed hold of him and used it as leverage as she kneed him. When he let go of her and cried, doubling over, the blonde used the momentum and his disorientation to slam him head-first into the wall behind her.

John Winchester collapsed to the ground, out cold.

"_Sorry_." She bit her bottom lip, bending to her knees to press two fingers to his throat, relieved to feel his pulse strong. "I can't believe I actually-_wow_." The blonde sat down next to him and chuckled, leaning her head back against the wall. "I did it. I actually _did_ it! Dean would be so proud!" Suddenly her eyes widened. "Dean! _Right_!"

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Dean could see the abandoned research clinic right ahead of him.

It was there...right there...

And then something leapt from the sky into the middle of the road, between him and the iron gates.

Smirking, Dean revved his engine and sped towards it.

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**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean – 23

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She'd felt bad about leaving John unconscious in the room, but the blonde had seen Hannah move away from the observation window above and the memory of the woman blowing green powder into her face both outside of her motel room and inside of her hospital room returned to her. A part of her was scared, but another really wondered whether the woman wanted to hurt her. Of course, this had obviously been a set up to have John sleep with her, but it hadn't been a violent encounter, had it? And there were the woman's reactions to her to consider.

Finding the stairwell, Chloe hurried upwards, eyes darting around her as she tried to see in the shadows around her. She tried keeping her ears open for sounds as well, but there was nothing but her own breaths as she continued up the large spiral.

Finally making it to the next floor, Chloe stepped out of the stairwell and onto the long corridor, frowning when she realized that the walls were made of glass. She trailed her fingers against the glass, staring down into the different observation rooms visible beneath. The girl even came across the one John was still unconscious in, her conscience giving a little flinch, before she pushed it away and looked ahead of her when a light came on in a room at the end of the corridor.

Gulping, the blonde continued forwards. She fought back the nerves playing with her mind, fought her hesitation as she reached the door. Turning the knob, she stepped inside the well-lit room where Hannah stood calmly, watching her.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to fight the spell...to even realize there was one to begin with." Hannah announced, brushing imaginary lint from her clothes, looking far less crazed than she had before. "I'm impressed."

"So, who are you, really?" Chloe raised her chin, surprised at how calm she felt as she squared off with this woman. "Because I doubt you're the woman you presented yourself to be in the bathroom."

"I don't think _you_ are the woman you presented yourself to be either." Hannah replied, lips curling into a smile as she folded her hands over her chest. "I thought the fire had died, but it seemed like somehow you've found it again."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I was trying to help you with the issue of your virginity, but I instead unknowingly helped you otherwise." Hannah tilted her head to the side as she regarded her. "The resemblance is _uncanny_."

"Who _are_ you?" Chloe frowned.

"If I had known about you sooner this would have all been different." Hannah ignored her question. "I would have taken you away before your mother could begin breaking your spirit. There's nothing as unacceptable and _detestable_ as a _weak _Dalakis."

Chloe's eyes widened in horror at the mere mention. "_Who are you_?"

Hannah smiled, gaze on the girl. "I'm sure you already have an idea."

Chloe took a step backwards. "What do you want?"

"To _help_." Hannah replied. "I don't like outside influences thinking they can mess with a Dalakis. Asset or _not_, you're one of us, and we take care of our own."

"Asset?" Chloe whispered in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't even know this much." Hannah shook her head in derision. "It's pitiful."

"Enlighten me then." The blonde raised her chin.

"On one condition." The regal woman declared.

"I'm getting a little tired of people agreeing to do things based on _conditions_." Chloe replied evenly.

Her insolence caused Hannah's smile to curve further. "The fire's most _definitely_ still there."

Narrowing her eyes, Chloe took a step towards the woman. "What's your condition?"

"It's quite easy, really. No harm, no foul." Hannah announced, taking a couple of steps towards the girl as she touched her fingers together against her chest. "Leave Dean Winchester's side."

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"So the deal has been done." Uriel announced with a smirk.

"As I told you would happen." Azazel grinned, satisfaction oozing from his pores. "Things are going smoothly and according to plan."

"I do not like the fact that the Michael's Sword has taken the Asset out of this safe haven." The angel, of course, had to find something to be unhappy with. It was obviously part of his nature. The kill-joy. "How are we to know that she is safe if she isn't _here_?"

"She's called in to Meg for her counseling sessions." Azazel replied, eyeing his nails. "We are well aware of where she is, and also of her state of mind. Chloe's enjoying herself, and that's something that's good for her right now."

"You're too fond of the Asset." Uriel mumbled darkly, folding his arms over his chest. "Makes me uncomfortable."

The demon just rolled his eyes.

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The gun was no good.

Regular bullets, bullets with holy water, rock salt, or even silver did nothing for this thing.

It seemed to have a distaste for iron though, and Dean was glad that he'd gone on his hunch and grabbed his blessed iron hunga mungas. The African tribal weapons afforded him no safe distance from his attacker, but Dean had never had a problem with getting close to the monsters he hunted.

Spring-Heel, if that was truly what this thing was, hissed out green flames, but Dean twirled around and sliced its back, neon green blood proving that if it was mortal enough to be wounded, it could be killed.

Hissing in pain, Spring-Heel twirled on its heels, slashing out with its steel coated claws, thrashing violently. It was fast and strong, almost always on the offensive, leaping over Dean multiple times as it slashed at him...those claws getting uncomfortably close to the hunter's throat a couple of times.

Despite not having super strength or speed to his advantage, Dean found that he was somehow still able to keep up with the creature. He could calculate the trajectory of its landing due to that of its leap, and would always be facing the creature, weapons at the ready for when it landed and attacked.

As Spring-Heel made its descent, Dean threw one of the hunga mungas, almost unable to believe it when the timing proved perfect, the blade slicing through tissue and muscle, embedding deep into the creature's shoulder.

Howling, Spring-Heel leapt away, towards the two-story research clinic.

Tightening his hold on his remaining weapon, Dean began racing towards the building, kicking the door open. It hit the back wall with a violent thud as he raced inside the darkness, his eyes growing accustomed to the shadows and aiding him as he raced forwards.

He opened his mouth to yell out Chloe's name when he realized thanks to the glass above that him lights on the next floor were on. There had to be a staircase somewhere that would lead him to the second story, and while it took a couple of minutes to find the door to the stairwell when Dean finally found it he took the steps two at once, making sure to keep alternating his gaze from behind him to in front of him.

The creature had come this way, he needed to be alert.

Finally making it out of the spiraling stairwell and onto the next level, Dean found himself walking down a corridor with glass walls on each side of it, a lit room at the end. He tightened his grip on his weapon as he drew closer, keeping his footsteps quiet as he heard voices coming through the door, which was ajar.

Chloe's voice stopped him. "What's your condition?"

"It's quite easy, really. No harm, no foul." An unknown female voice declared in a smug voice he detested. "Leave Dean Winchester's side."

Dean froze.

What the hell was going on?

Was-was this a demon?

Was Chloe making another damned deal?

"Sorry, no dice." Chloe responded coolly.

"You _deny_ me?" The woman asked in surprise.

"Look, I know that Dean's not going to take care of me forever, and he shouldn't have to. I'm not his little sister." Chloe responded. "But I'll be damned if I disappear just because _you_ want me to."

"Show respect to your elders, child."

"I'm not a _child_!" Chloe snapped. "I'm sick of everyone treating me like I am! I'm not a child! I haven't been for a very long time! You of _all_ people should know that! You screwed with John's and my minds and tried to get us to sleep together!"

Dean reared back, eyes widened at that.

"He mightn't be the one whose sigils matches yours, but considering you seem to be fighting them somehow I thought it would be appropriate for him to take you." This woman declared with no apology whatsoever. "He _was_ the husband of the _last_ Asset."

Asset?

The hell?

"Mary Winchester was an Asset too?" Chloe asked softly.

"Yes."

Dean narrowed his eyes.

"What's an Asset and what does it have to do with all the shit I've been through?"

"I told you. I'll tell you everything...as soon as you promise you'll never see that boy ever again."

"Why do you _care_?" Chloe snapped.

"Believe it or not, I'm doing what's best for _you_." The woman declared. "It's in your best interest to be as far away from that boy as physically possible."

"I find that hard to believe." Chloe chuckled darkly. "Dean Winchester is one of the best things that's _ever_ happened to me."

Dean's eyes widened, shocked stiff at those words.

"Oh, I disagree." The woman snorted. "Call me old-fashioned, but I think it's _wise_ to stay as far away as _possible_ from the person who's going to _kill_ you."

The hunga munga slipped from Dean's hands and clattered to the ground by his feet.

"I don't believe you." Chloe responded with no hesitance whatsoever.

"Darling, no matter how close you may think you two are, that boy was _born_ to kill you." The woman declared firmly. "It's part of his sole purpose for being alive. Just like yours has been to die...in the right place...at the right time."

"_What_?" Chloe whispered.

"Child," the woman spoke gravely. "The only reason you were born was so that Dean Winchester could kill you."

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"_That's a lie_." Chloe hissed, pissed off that the woman would go that far.

"Damn right that's a fucking lie!" The door was kicked open, revealing an _infuriated_ Dean Winchester standing there, reaching down to grab his hunga munga. "I don't know what _bullshit_ you're trying to pull, lady, but there's some lines you just don't cross!"

Chloe's eyes widened, shocked to see him here.

Also, she'd never seen him as pissed as he was at this moment, his face pale and pinched, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he stormed to stand between her and Hannah, his grip on the weapon so tight his knuckles were white.

Dean's clothes were ripped, there were slashes up and down, bloodied, and there were bruises forming. He'd obviously been in a fight recently, his treasured brown leather jacket having taken the brunt of the attack and was without salvation.

He looked like some sort of avenging angel.

Chloe gulped as she stared at him with wide green eyes.

Hannah appeared far less impressed. "Ah, the eldest son I take it. Dean Winchester."

"Yeah." He stood tall, defiant. "Who the hell are _you_?"

Her eyes went to Chloe. "Why don't _you_ make the introductions?"

Clenching her jaw, Chloe glared at the woman before taking in a deep breath and turning to the man who had yet to take his infuriated hazels off of the woman. "Dean Winchester, meet Hannah Dalakis, my grandmother."

Dean's eyes widened in shock as he finally turned to look at her. "The _fuck_?"

"_Biological_ grandmother." Chloe shrugged.

"_Paternal_ grandmother." Hannah added.

Dean turned to look at her at that, narrowing his eyes. "You mean...?"

"Yes." Hannah Dalakis nodded. "Viktor Dalakis, Chloe's father, is my son."

"That's all I need to know." Dean declared, grabbing Chloe's hand with his. "We're out of here."

Chloe's eyes widened as she went along with him, staring down at their joined hands, a little shocked because he'd never done this before. She didn't comment on it though, hurrying to match his speed as he began storming them down the corridor towards the stairwell.

The door to the stairwell opened and the creature she'd seen in the parking lot, Spring-Heel, stepped onto the corridor. There was a huge gash in its shoulder that bled neon green blood, and in its hand was the twin to the hunga munga in Dean's.

"I'm afraid I can't just let you leave like this." Hannah declared from behind them. "Not when you've hurt my little pet so badly and are _such_ a threat to my only grandchild."

With a shriek the creature hurled the weapon at them.

Dean yelled, throwing his own weapon towards the creature, using the momentum of his swing to turn and wrap his arms around Chloe as he held her tightly, shielding her body with his.

Chloe went stiff in his embrace, eyes wide, her previous shock overwhelming her.

The hunga munga flew passed Dean's head close enough to cut a lock of hair, before twirling on and imbedding itself into the glass wall next to them.

Something collapsed loudly on the ground.

Dean pulled away and turned to face the creature...only to find it dead on the ground, the hunga munga embedded in its face.

"_Fascinating_." Hannah's voice declared behind them.

Chloe turned with Dean to look at the woman, who stood in the doorway, eyeing them calculatingly.

"I think now I understand their worry and their sigils." Hannah's lips twitched in a cunning little smile. "They might very well need a replacement." Her eyebrow raised. "But how will he be able to handle _you_?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean glared at her. "And what did you mean when you said that that _thing_ was your 'pet'?"

The woman merely turned and walked back into the room, locking the door behind her.

Chloe watched the door with a frown.

Dean didn't waste time on the older woman, instead yanking his blade out of the cracked glass, pausing as he gazed down at something. "Hey...is that my _father_?"

Chloe flinched. "Oh, yeah."

"What happened to him?" Dean turned to face her.

Chloe cleared her throat. "I _might_ have knocked him unconscious." She flinched. "I assure you, it was for the greater good."

Dean just stared down at her before his lips began to twitch. "You knocked him out?"

The blonde nodded.

The hunter chuckled with dark amusement at that. "He's never going to live that down."

Chloe finally let herself smile up at him, not sure what'd happened to change his annoyance with her, but deeply grateful for it.

Dean's smile slipped slightly as he just stared down at her.

The girl clasped her hands behind her as she stared up at him, wondering what was going through his mind to make his eyes seem so lost.

Dean sighed, lowering his gaze to his shoes once more.

"_Dean_?" Chloe whispered, stepping closer and staring up into his face, trying to catch his gaze yet unable to. "_Dean_." She reached up and cupped his jaw, lifting his head up enough so that their eyes met. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's bothering you so much?" The blonde felt a little worried when all he did was look at her in utter silence. "What can I do to make it better?"

Dean closed his eyes as he let out an ugly little laugh, shaking his head before he finished shocking the crap out of her by yanking her to him in a bone-crushing embrace. "I'm pissed." He whispered into her hair. "I'm so fucking pissed!"

She gulped, tensing for a moment, before relaxing in his hold and wrapping her arms around him, rubbing his back soothingly. "Was it something I did?"

He let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob as his grip on her tightened even further and he buried his face in her hair.

Chloe didn't know what to do, so she just held on with all she had and hoped that that was enough.

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**TBC**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: See No Evil

Written for my LJ 150 Paranormal Prompt Table. Prompt used #118: Spring-heeled Jack.

Chloe - 15

Dean – 23

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John wondered exactly how that kid had supposedly knocked him unconscious. The last thing he remembered before waking up in the observation room was leaning over the girl while she lay in her hospital bed, and the fact that he'd let his guard down annoyed the hell out of him. His ego was more bruised than his head, which had an impressive bump. Not only had someone gotten the drop on him and spelled him...not only had a kid who couldn't be 100 pounds somehow managed to knock him out _cold_, but _Dean_ had been the one to bring an end to the creature he'd been trailing for five towns already. John had been unconscious the whole time.

He pursed his lips in annoyance, watching Dean load the things into his car, while Chloe ran her hand over the dented bodywork in worry, telling the Impala she was so sorry it had been "hurt".

Dean mumbled something to the girl as he closed the door, his hand resting on her shoulder as he led her towards John.

The older hunter leaned against his truck, refusing to admit to the fact that he was in a sulk. "So, you're back to pretending you're a civilian?"

Something flashed in Dean's eyes, something dangerous, something that made John feel the need to straighten, to be wary.

Chloe lowered her head before sighing and looking back up at him. "Sorry for knocking you out."

"S'okay." John flinched at the reminder that this kid had somehow done that to _him_, the seasoned hunter.

He was never going to live this down.

His pride was wounded.

This better not get out to other hunters because his reputation would take a _horrible_ nose dive.

"What are your plans?" Dean asked him.

"Considering I don't have a case anymore, I'll probably look for another one." He replied, shucking his hands into his jacket's pockets. "I can't slack off, especially since so many of our kind seem to be leaving their post and deserting the fight."

A muscle jumped in Dean's cheek as he clenched his jaw. "Chloe, can you wait for me in the car?"

"Sure." Chloe nodded, unease on her expression as she gazed at them. "Bye John."

"Goodbye Chloe." He nodded, watching her leave before turning his dark gaze on his eldest son. "Spit it out, boy. What do you have to say that the kid couldn't hear?"

"I don't expect you to understand why I do what I'm doing or why I'm doing it." Dean announced, face blank but eyes narrowed.

"Good. Because I _don't_." John replied, his annoyance growing. "Your mother's killer is out there somewhere, and you're following this false lead. This girl is distracting you from your _job_."

"Hunting is not my _job_, _sir_." Dean nearly _growled_.

It made John want to jerk in surprise but he had enough control over himself to avoid doing so and thus betray just how unnerved he was at this moment.

"Have a safe drive." Dean shook his head, turning and stalking back towards the Impala, where Chloe was going through his cassette box.

John watched him go, confused, wondering what in the world had happened to his eldest while he'd been asleep.

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AC/DC played loudly in the dented Chevy Impala, Chloe sitting in the passenger's seat with her eyes closed as she hummed along with the current song. They'd been silent for most of the ride so far, the music the only thing keeping things from being weird.

"Why didn't you want to tell your father?" Chloe finally broke the silence, eyes closed as she talked.

"About what exactly?" He hedged, uncomfortable, not sure he was ready to tackle this topic and the ones that were sure to follow.

"_Everything_." Her green eyes finally fluttered open as she turned her head towards him, face passive but those eyes were confused. "You told me not to mention what we found out-about this whole Asset business and the..." she snorted. "...the whole ridiculous part where you're supposed to kill me some time in the not too distant future."

Dean's grip tightened on the steering wheel at the mere mention. "I wouldn't-."

"I _know_." She chuckled darkly as she turned on her side on the seat, staring at him. "It's never crossed my mind as an actual possibility." The blonde pursed her lips. "This whole thing about Assets, and being connected with your mother, and being born to die by your hand...also the whole sigils and replacement thing...it's so confusing. It makes no sense really. And why would this other guy she mentioned have to 'handle' you? And who is he?"

They were all such good questions, and yet Dean just didn't want to talk about this. First-.

"Your father might have been able to help." Chloe eyed him curiously. "So I don't understand why you didn't tell him _anything_."

Dean hesitated, gaze in front him. "Probably for the same reason why you never told anyone about the fact that you made a pact with a demon to save my life while in Hope." His gaze slid towards her, seeing the shock on her pale face. "It all hinges on issues with _trust_."

"_How-_?" Chloe whispered, her green eyes wide.

"Does it matter?" He asked, voice low with barely contained anger as his gaze returned to the road. "What _really_ matters is that you _did_ make a deal with a demon. For _me_." His grip tightened nearly painfully on the steering wheel. "Are you still working for him?"

"No." She whispered, gaze lowering to her hands, seeming unable to look him in the face now. "I did everything he asked me to do. I don't work for him anymore."

"How long since you've been free?" Dean kept his gaze on the road, relief soaring through him at that.

There was a pause.

His eyes narrowed. "How. Long?"

The girl hung her head lower. "Since the day we decided to go visit Sam."

Dean's world rocked on its axis _violently_ as he realized just how long the girl had been under demonic servitude. "That was only a couple of _days_ ago."

Chloe didn't answer, turning to sit so she was facing the road.

"Why did you do it?" He couldn't keep the darkness from his voice as he pressed down on the acceleration. "Why the _hell_ did you agree to that pact?"

"I didn't have much of a _choice_, Dean." She finally turned towards him once more, glaring. "In case your memory of that time is a little hazy, you were _dead_, Lois was somewhere upstairs about to be ritualistically _raped_, and I was locked in a cellar with your _dead body_. He gave me an option out and I took it. _Sue me_."

"Then why did you choose _that_?" He growled, their speed dangerous by now. "Why choose to bring me back? I was a stranger! Why the _hell_ would you-? You could have just gotten yourself and Lois out of there. I was dead already. I wouldn't have known that you had a choice either way."

"Are you serious?" Chloe asked softly, eyes wide, lips parted. "_That_ is what bothers you about the whole situation? I can't believe you! It's not that I made a deal with Azazel! It's that I made one for _you_!"

"The _hell_ it's that!" He snapped, turning his head towards her, knowing his hazels burned with his anger. "Either way I'd be fucking furious with you!"

"And then you don't know why I wouldn't tell you?!" She nearly screamed at him.

"I know why you didn't tell me!" Dean screamed right back at her. "Because you knew it was wrong!"

"It wasn't!" She snarled, looking like she wanted to _hit_ him. "Because of it you're alive, Lois is alive, and _I_ am alive! There hasn't been _any_ reason for me to regret making that deal!"

"You fucking _worked_ for a _demon_!" Dean snapped viciously. "You _should_ feel regret!"

"Well I don't!" She spat. "And if you can't handle it, then _fine_! You don't have to! Just drop me at the closest bus station and that's it. Problem fucking solved!"

"Why?" Dean sneered at her. "Changed your mind and decided to accept your psycho grandmother's little deal? You've proven _so eager_ for them in the past."

A muscle jumped in her cheek. "Stop the car."

He snorted, turning his attention back to the road. "Not making it that easy for you to leave, _darling_."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll jump."

Dean chuckled darkly at her bluff. "Good luck with that."

A little growl reverberated in her throat before she turned towards her door as she undid her seatbelt, unlocking the door and opening it.

Eyes wide in fear as he realized she wasn't bluffing, Dean cursed as he pressed down on the brakes, coming to a screeching stop in the middle of the highway.

The cars behind him blared and their drivers screamed obscenities to him as they barely kept from rear-ending the Impala.

Chloe was outside in seconds, slamming the door behind her as she opened the back door, grabbed her bag, and stormed off.

Cursing both her and himself, Dean flipped off the people still beeping at him as he pulled off to the side of the road, yanked out his keys, and got out of the car. His long legs helped him catch up to the girl with relative ease, grabbing her arm and yanking her along with him towards the woodland area to their right.

"Let go!" Chloe struggled angrily at him. "Stop it!"

He didn't react to her words per se, merely yanking the bag from her hands and throwing her over his shoulder, the girl kicking and screaming.

"The hell's wrong with you?" She pounded her fist into his back as he walked her and her bag down into the forest, keeping his 'Pala in sight yet making sure that they weren't easily visible from the road above. "Put me down this instance!"

He finally obeyed, slinging her bag to the ground before lowering her and pushing her against a large trunked tree, keeping her pinned by her shoulders as he glared into her face.

Chloe struggled in his grip for a couple of seconds before realizing she couldn't win with brute strength only, apparently deciding her next best course of action was to glare the hell out of him.

Dean glared right back at her.

She growled.

He growled deeper.

The girl didn't back down, clenching her fists at her sides as she just glared at him silently. She was more pissed than he'd ever seen her before, but he guessed that was to be expected since this the most pissed he'd ever been with her as well. How could she be so stupid? So _careless_? How could she not see that what she'd done was _wrong_? That keeping it a secret had been _worse_?

The fury slowly began fading from those green orbs as concern took its place, the girl's eyebrows nearly touching in a frown as she unclenched her fists and brought them up to rest on the hands he had holding her shoulders.

"_Dean_?" Her voice jerked him out of the dark place his mind had wandered into. "_What's wrong_?"

It was only then that he realized that the hands he had holding her in place were trembling.

Yanking away from her, Dean took in a deep breath as he turned his back on her, running one of those shaking hands over his face as he fought for control over his own reactions.

"No matter how pissed you are..." her voice was soft, lacking the fury that'd just oozed out of her a little while before. "...I'm not going to regret it. I _won't_."

Dean stared up at the heavens, which were partially covered by the trees.

"If you'd died I-I never would have really gotten to know you." She cleared her throat when her voice wobbled. "And I _know_ I'm troublesome, I _know_ this isn't what you planned to do with your life. I _know_ I'm just some kid you're looking after out some sort of code of honor people just don't live by anymore...I _know_." Her voice cracked. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're _special_ to me."

Dean's wide gaze lowered from the sky to stare ahead of him near unseeingly.

"I know you hate these 'feelings' talk, so you don't have to talk, just _listen_." She whispered. "I don't care how angry you are at me; I _don't_, because if I hadn't known you my life would be shitty right now. And I don't even mean I'd be on my own taking care of myself. I could deal with that if I had to, I could survive, I'm adaptable." Her voice wobbled again. "You're not my drinking buddy, you're not my friend, you're not my crush, and you're not my roommate. You're the person who knows when I'm screaming and crying on the inside, even when it's dark and you're supposed to be sleeping, and you know where to find me and what to do to make it better. You're the one who examines all those around me, especially my friends, calculating who can be trusted, who is best for me, and you do your best to make sure that when I need them they're there."

Dean clenched his fists tightly, lowering his gaze till it rested on the ground before him.

"You and Lois never made a secret the fact that you had an attraction for each other, and you don't think she left because she wanted to. You think something happened to her, and you don't want me to know, instead you're searching for her on your own." She shocked the hell out of him by declaring this softly. "Your upbringing drives you to want to hunt for her yourself, but you're not going to leave my side, both out of respect for what you think she'd want you to do if she was really taken away by force, and because you don't think you can trust me not to get into some sort of mortal danger the second you walk out the door."

He narrowed his eyes on his boots, clenching his fists so tightly his nails were digging painfully into the flesh of his palms.

"You don't just live with me...you _live_ with me." Chloe cleared her throat, her voice having gone thick at this point. "You've become an integral part of my life, waking and dreaming. We eat together, clean together, drive together, learn together, and fight together! I trust you unlike I've ever trusted a man in my whole life! I'm _terrified_ at the thought of guys touching me, even innocently, but I _cling_ to you. I can tolerate Pete and Clark because they don't see me as a girl, but you're the only one I don't mind touching me because you make me feel _safe_! You make me feel like I can _trust_ someone out there in this world! Hell! I only trusted Sam at first because _you raised him_! You!"

Dean's clenched hands were beginning to shake again.

"You might be stubborn, and somewhat stuck in your father's era with your cassettes and such...and at times you're emotionally _stunted_ because John's a fucking _Terminator_ and not a father...but you're _you_ Dean." She let out a little sigh. "And I can't imagine you not being here in my life. I don't care how selfish it is, but it's the truth. It's not because my dad left me, or because Lois did. It's not because I need you to pick me up from school or be there to hold my hand during the nights when I wake up screaming from some random nightmare. I-I-." She cleared her throat once again when her voice went thick. "I won't ever regret making that deal because it meant I got to know you and share all this time with you...and if you can't understand it then _screw you_!"

Dean closed his eyes tightly.

"I'm going to the car now...sorry for all this drama." She whispered, moving towards him, passed him, her head lowered.

Hazel eyes opened as he reached out, his hand clasping around hers.

Chloe stopped, standing ahead of him with her back to the hunter.

Dean tightened his grip on her hand, unable to really express what he wanted to say, and hoping that this was enough.

Chloe's head lowered further, her shoulders trembling as a sob escaped her lips, and then she'd turned around and was wrapped around him, hiding her face in his shirt as she cried.

Maybe he _was_ emotionally stunted because the girl had opened her heart to him and he couldn't say a thing to her, didn't know what to say or how to even begin saying it. He felt awkward and stupid and useless, something he wasn't used to feeling when it came to women. He hated it. Hated it with all he had.

But despite it all Chloe seemed to get what he was trying to say because she held on tightly and cried, and while crying women were the thing that terrified him the most, Dean wrapped his arms around her and held on.

Because somehow, just by doing that alone, she seemed to _know_.

To understand.

And for now that was all that mattered.

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"Damn it all to perdition! This is _your_ fault demon!" Uriel snarled as he stormed into the room, just _oozing_ ferocity.

Azazel stared up at the angel with a raised eyebrow. "What's my fault _this time_?"

"I told you he would be problems! I _told_ you the Asset should be kept away from the Michael's Sword!" Uriel raged. "But would you listen to me? No!"

The demon was far from intimidated by this show of wrath as he steepled his fingers over his desk. "Stop your little snit and explain _what exactly_ is going on."

"Snit? SNIT?" Uriel growled. "This is FAR from a SNIT! This is HOLY IRE!"

It was all the demon could do to keep from rolling his eyes. "And _what_ has Deanie-boy done to deserve such 'holy ire'?"

"He's rendered himself _unfit_!" The angel looked ready to tear things apart any second now.

Azazel sat straighter. "Pardon?"

"UNFIT! **UNFIT**! UNFIT TO BE THE TRUE VESSEL!" Uriel snarled as he kicked a chair into the wall, causing it to smash to pieces. "My _superiors_ in the angelic host have declared that his feelings towards the Asset have grown to the point where they cannot project a plausible circumstance in which he _willingly_ spills her blood!"

"Is that so?" The demon tried not to show how much this turn of events intrigued him.

"They've had a cupid match her with someone with whom they say she will be able to conceive a _replacement_ for the Michael's Sword!" Uriel was still in his fit. "But waiting for the conception and for the child to come of age-it will take too long! We've had to wait enough as it is!" Uriel turned towards the demon, his wings flashing menacingly behind him. "The Michael's Sword was supposed to willingly shed her blood at the time and place indicated so that the seals may be broken and Lucifer may be _freed_! And now it won't happen until at least twenty more years _because of you_! AGAIN!"

"You angels, you have _no imagination_." Azazel chuckled, shaking his head at the aforesaid angel, who huffed and puffed in anger. "That's why heaven's going to lose this war." The demon leaned against his seat with a smirk. "They can't think outside of the box."

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"So...you're saying he _sees _things _in his dreams_." Dean blinked as they drove peacefully down the road, trying to digest this new piece of information he'd received after asking Chloe how exactly Sammy would know what was going on during the hunt.

"Yep. He's psychic." Chloe responded, a mischievous smile on her face as she nodded. "He hates that word though, so let's not use it while we're in Stanford."

"How long has this been going on?" Dean wanted to know, still finding it hard to believe.

"I'm not sure, you're going to have to ask him about it while we're there." She replied with a shrug.

Dean shook his head. "My brother. The psychic."

"Talking about family who aren't exactly normal...I'm thinking that the Dalakis clan aren't All-American suburbanites either." Chloe muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Other than a psychosis which is obviously a shared family trait, the fact that Hannah had a familiar makes me wanna say my grandmother's a witch."

Dean did _not_ like hearing that. "She also seems to know an awful lot about why you've been getting the shit-end of the stick."

"I know." Chloe agreed with a frown. "This whole Asset business is new to me, especially if it's somehow connected to your mother. Obviously there isn't just one, like a Slayer, but it must be somehow important. It's got to be why things keep on wanting to kill me...or sleep with me." Her eyes widened. "What if it's like the Omen and I'm supposed to give birth to the antichrist?"

Dean choked on his saliva. "Don't say shit like that!"

"It would make sense why all these psychos wanna sleep with me!" Chloe defended, looking quite disgusted. "Oh my god, I'm the Evil Virgin!"

"You're not the Evil Virgin." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Am too!" She whimpered, bringing her hands to her face.

"Look, it's no use coming up with bogus theories." Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Once we get to Bobby's we'll tell him everything we have and he'll help. If there's someone who can find obscure information, it's _him_. Until then, let's not make any assumptions. Got it?"

"_Fine_." Chloe yanked her hands from her face, frowning. "But if I end up being the Unholy Mother, you owe me fifty bucks."

Dean chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Make it a hundred."

Her eyes widened at that, almost as if shocked at his certainty, a small smile finally curling her lips. "You're so...certain."

"Well, my mom was an Asset, and I can _assure_ you neither Sam nor I are the antichrist...so I don't think there's any reason for you to believe your situation would be any different."

Chloe looked at him before smiling teasingly. "When did you become so smart?"

"Hey!" He laughed, reaching out to flick her nose. "Sammy might be the one with the book smarts, but I'm the one with the common sense. And common sense says you aren't any Unholy Virgin." He nodded with his surety. "And when you have a kid he won't be the antichrist...though if he's anything like his mother...he'll be a hell of a handful!"

Chloe gasped in mock outrage as she laughed, slapping his shoulder, shaking her head at him. "Just for that you're going to be the one who I'm making babysit while I'm out having a good time!"

He snorted.

Chloe smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling with her mirth as she laughed.

Dean smiled back at her, wondering why he felt so good despite the fact that things seemed to have become so much more complicated.

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With a gasp she came awake, gazing around her at the room before sitting up in bed and pressing a hand to her head. The images that she'd seen were engraved into her brain, taking up her whole mind, leaving her hardly any space to think. She reached for the large and well-used notepad next to her bedside, beginning to write down everything she'd dreamt of before the details began to fade from her waking mind.

The door opened and her boyfriend stuck his head into the room. "I thought you were going to sleep longer. You pulled an all-nighter last night. You need the rest."

"I know." She muttered, writing down rapidly, messily, the images and sounds and feelings slowly beginning to disappear as she wrote them. "It's just that I had that dream again."

"The one with the girl?" He asked curiously, leaning his hips against the doorway.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I really think I should write a book. This is just too interesting to leave in my dream journal."

"Kinda tragic though, isn't it?" He made a face. "From what you've told me those dreams are _depressing_."

"Still..." she refused to look up from what she wrote. "Most of our classics are tragedies."

"True." He agreed, taking a sip of his drink. "You should name her Elektra or something tragic like that."

"I already got her name." She replied, finally looking up.

"You remembered it this time?" He asked in surprise.

She nodded, grinning brightly, proud that for the first time since she'd started having these dreams she could remember the protagonist's name. "Yes. It's Chloe."

"Chloe. Hmmm." He nodded. "Sounds acceptable."

"Of course it's acceptable." She laughed, putting the notepad away and laying back in bed. "Wake me up in two hours, okay? I've gotta cram for that revision test or Matthews is gonna kick my ass."

"I'll bring coffee." He promised, reaching for the door's handle to close it behind him.

"Really Adam, what would I do without you?" Lois Lake grinned as she laid back down, pulling the sheets up to her chin as she yawned, dark hazel eyes closing in sleep. "You really are a godsend."

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**Thus ends "Spring-Heeled Jack".**


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